One of the legends of the UFC is going to make the walk for the final time in November. Last night, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report that former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar (24-10-1) will make the walk at UFC 281 against Chris Gutierrez (18-3-2).
“The Answer” will retire following the bout. He wanted the UFC to give him one more fight in front of his home crowd and he got it. Chris Gutierrez is tasked with trying to be the spoiler on November 12th.
This is a massive fight for Gutierrez who has looked sensational during his run in the UFC. After losing his promotional debut, he’s gone 6-0-1 in his last seven fights. Currently, he’s riding a three-fight winning streak. He is not going to be an easy fight for Edgar.
UFC’s Swan Song for Edgar
It’s hard to believe that we know this will be the last time we’ll see Frankie Edgar inside the octagon. Edgar rose to stardom in 2010 when he shocked the world by defeating BJ Penn for the lightweight title. The decision was a little controversial so the promotion ran things back immediately. In the rematch, Edgar completely dominated solidifying his title reign.
Following that win, Edgar defended the title twice in classic fights against Gray Maynard before falling to Benson Henderson. Since the loss to Henderson, Edgar has never gotten back to a UFC title. He had a few opportunities at featherweight but fell short.
In 2020, Edgar decided to make one more run at bantamweight. He defeated Mark Munhoz and then got a shot against Cory Sandhagen. Unfortunately, Edgar was knocked out with a flying knee. Then he took on Chito Vera at UFC 268 last November.
Edgar looked good early, but Chito came on strong and ended up knocking Edgar out. Now, Edgar is ready to hang things up and he’s hoping to go out with a win. It should be an emotional night at UFC 281 in November.