'I got to live a dream': Frankie Edgar having Madison Square Garden MMA retirement fight
When Frankie Edgar steps into Madison Square Garden for his retirement fight at UFC 281, it may just be an underground grapple in the Bronx that crosses his mind.
"My first MMA fight was in the Bronx in 2005, an unsanctioned event not too far from here. That kind of makes things full circle for sure," the future Hall-of-Famer and Toms River native, 41, said.
"After I graduated college (at PennWest Clarion), I started training ... and had that first fight in the Bronx. I won that fight − and I broke my face actually in the fight. I still wanted to do it. So right then and there I knew if I was crazy enough to want to do this after breaking my face, this was it for me."
More: Frankie Edgar confirms he's retiring 'for sure'
And what a ride it's been.
Why Madison Square Garden is 'fitting' for farewell
He's been a UFC fighter for 15 years, is the former UFC lightweight champion, won at three different weight classes and fought to break barriers in legalizing mixed martial arts in New York, which happened in 2016 and led to the first UFC fight that year at Madison Square Garden. He holds a record of 24-10-1 MMA, 18-10-1 UFC.
He's eager to step back into the famed halls of MSG for his retirement fight, where he'll take on Chris Gutierrez in a pay-per-view bantamweight matchup during UFC 281 on Saturday, Nov. 12.
"It's awesome. It's our backyard, being from Jersey and coming up here as a kid, watching wrestling events or concerts. It's called 'The World's Most Famous Arena' for a reason. Ali-Frazier was here. It seems fitting."
He's trying to celebrate the moment, but there's one little distraction.
"Knowing this one's the last one, I'm trying to make this special, trying to take it all in, but that's kind of hard to do when you know someone's trying to beat you up on Saturday," he laughed.
UFC 281 features a main event with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya taking on No. 5 ranked Alex Pereira. In the co-main event, UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza looks to defend her title against former champion and No. 2 ranked contender Zhang Weili.
As Edgar looks back to the sport's foray into the mainstream over the course of his career, the trajectory and the ability of the sport to transcend barriers strikes him.
"When I started, we were on Spike. Then we went to Fox and now we're on ESPN. They talked about the big four sports − now you gotta throw UFC into the mix. And what's even more unique with UFC is it's actually worldwide. This goes across many languages, many cultures, many religions. Everybody gets fighting."
The public's conception of the sport also has changed, he says.
'I got to live a dream'
"I think early on in my career you see it more than nowadays, that people think of us as barbarians or maybe not classy guys. But some of the best people I've met have been in the sport. You walk in any martial arts or fight school, fight gym in the world and there's more culture in that gym than most colleges in our country," he said.
Edgar says he looks forward to being able to give his kids, 13, 12 and 8, his full undivided attention in retirement −not that he plans to leave the world of fighting entirely behind.
For now, though, he's grateful.
"The fact that I got to live a dream is still wild to me. Growing up, I loved the 'Rocky' movies and I'm kind of living the 'Rocky' life, so it's awesome. I'm just very grateful that I got to experience all of this."
Ilana Keller is an award-winning journalist and lifelong New Jersey resident who loves Broadway and really bad puns. Reach out on Twitter: @ilanakeller; ikeller@gannettnj.com
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Frankie Edgar MMA retirement fight coming at Madison Square Garden
