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Frankie Edgar Added to UFC’s Atlantic City Fight Night
Published:
A sneaky-good card slated for Boardwalk Hall next month just got a whole lot better.
Toms River native Frankie Edgar will fight Cub Swanson in a rematch of their entertaining 2014 bout:
Rematch in the Garden State❗️
NJ’s own @FrankieEdgar takes on @CubSwanson at #UFCAC.
Tickets on sale NOW: https://t.co/GjZNRJ3DF7 pic.twitter.com/uKac18nLCD
— UFC (@ufc) March 22, 2018
It’s a RAPID return for Edgar, who fought Brian Ortega just three weeks ago at UFC 222. He was knocked out for the first time in his career when he caught a vicious first-round uppercut and hit the canvas. Edgar was originally supposed to fight Max Holloway for the lightweight title, a matchup that was scrapped twice due to injuries, so Edgar took the Ortega fight instead and suffered a tough loss.
Is it too soon for him to fight again?
I think so, but Frankie is a machine, so I’m not surprised. He’s a New Jersey guy and trains not far from Atlantic City with Eddie Alvarez and Edson Barboza, the latter of whom will headline the event in a matchup against Kevin Lee. Knowing Edgar’s history, he probably wants to get back in the octagon ASAP to rid himself of the bitter taste of a bad defeat, and he’ll want to fight in front of a home town crowd again. Frankie hasn’t fought in South Jersey since 2006, when he beat Jim Miller in a Reality Fighting event.
The first Edgar/Swanson matchup was decided with in the fifth round, when Frankie won with a neck crank submission with 4 seconds remaining on the clock.
Here’s the Atlantic City fight card, stuffed with intriguing matchups between ranked fighters:
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com