MMA legend Frankie Edgar insists that he has no regrets after deciding to call time on his iconic career at UFC 281 on Saturday night.
Edgar, a former lightweight champion and featherweight title contender, will face Chris Gutierrez at Madison Square Garden in his first fight since being viciously knocked out by Marlon 'Chito' Vera at the same venue last year. It was his fifth loss in seven, and his fourth time being stopped, which led many to believe that he should hang up the gloves.
Initially, he had seemed keen to keep fighting, but after a year out of action, Edgar decided that he would quit the sport after one last main-card bout at the iconic New York venue.
Gutierrez, for his part, has no sentimentality around the bout and is looking for another finish to finally land himself a spot as a top 15 bantamweight. "Originally, I thought I would never retire, or at least say it - I was just going to walk away," Edgar said at the UFC 281 media day in New York on Wednesday.
"That was kind of how I wanted to do it because I'm not really an attention guy, I'm not really looking for any shoutouts or anything like that, but this was a way to hold myself accountable. If I say something publicly then I'm sure I'll stick to it - I've made my mind up and yeah, this is it."
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Throughout fight week, almost everybody on the card has paid some sort of tribute to Edgar, whose legendary career saw him come within touching distance of becoming a two-weight world champion. His battles with Grey Maynard as well as his wins over BJ Penn have been evoked during an emotional retirement run, but Gutierrez is keen not to let the occasion get to him.
“My job is to go in there and win,” Gutierrez explained. “It’s not bittersweet. He’s had his run. He’s done amazing things for the sport. No, it’s not bittersweet at all - Frankie is a legend in the sport. He’s done amazing things. It’s still Frankie at the end of the day. I’m not going to take anything away from the guy. He’s still a dangerous fighter, and that’s why I’m treating this fight like every other fight.”
