Frankie Edgar books retirement battle at UFC 281, sources say

Former UFC light-weight champion and future Corridor of Famer Frankie Edgar has booked the ultimate battle of his profession.

Edgar (24-10-1) will face Chris Gutierrez in a bantamweight contest at UFC 281 on Nov. 12, in keeping with a number of sources. The pay-per-view occasion will happen at Madison Sq. Backyard, simply north of Edgar’s hometown of Toms River, New Jersey.

Earlier this 12 months, Edgar, 40, advised ESPN he wished to ebook one final battle in New York earlier than retiring from blended martial arts. He confirmed that’s nonetheless the plan to ESPN on Thursday.

Edgar is likely one of the most revered fighters of the final 20 years. He has fought completely within the UFC since his promotional debut in February 2007, and has competed in three completely different weight lessons. He received the UFC’s light-weight championship by upsetting BJ Penn in 2010 and went on to compete for the featherweight belt twice towards Jose Aldo.

He dropped to the bantamweight division in 2020 and picked up a win in his first 135-pound look towards Pedro Munhoz. He has suffered back-to-back knockout losses in his final two fights, nonetheless, to ranked contenders Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Vera.

Gutierrez (18-3-2) is a rising 31-year-old bantamweight, with an total UFC report of 6-1-1. Preventing out of Colorado, Gutierrez hasn’t misplaced since his UFC debut in 2018. Two of his six victories within the UFC have come by way of knockout.

Regardless of his present 0-2 skid, Edgar is presently the UFC’s No. 11 ranked bantamweight.