Frankie Edgar Reveals He Fought at UFC 268 Following Hip Replacement Surgery

Frankie Edgar was engaged in a competitive bout with Marlon Vera at UFC 268 before a front kick from his opponent abruptly ended his night 3:50 into Round 3.

Considering the circumstances, it was impressive that Edgar was able to compete as well as he did prior the finish. On the "Champ and the Tramp"podcast (h/t MMAFighting.com), Edgar revealed that he underwent hip replacement surgery this past April.

“I never really made it public. That’s an accomplishment in itself, coming back from that,” Edgar said. “That’s something I wanted to prove to myself. A lot of people think you get something like that, it’s the end of something. And not only did I do it, I f—king did it quickly. I felt amazing, my hip f—king felt amazing.”

Edgar has also been struggling with “nerve issues” in his back, which were alleviated somewhat through he surgical procedure he underwent at 18. Now, however, it’s something he will need to receive additional treatment for to manage. Edgar said he has scheduled an appointment to see exactly what needs to be done.

“I wrestled with it in college, I fought for 20 f—-ing years, so it did its job,” Edgar said. “But I need to get that taken care of, regardless of fighting or not, it’s f—-ing with my life.”

The former lightweight champion has fallen on hard times of late, losing four of his last five UFC appearances — including three via KO or TKO. That said, Edgar isn’t ready to make a decision regarding his MMA career. What is clear is if he does make that retirement announcement, there won’t be any comeback fights.

“I know I’ve got a lot left to give this sport in many ways, like my spirit doesn’t want to be done, that’s for sure,” Edgar said. “I feel like I can still do this at a high level. I was doing that at a high level two nights ago and got caught with a good shot.

“But I don’t like being on this end, and it seems like I’m here often, as of late. So I’m being real about it, but I’m not gonna make a decision. I don’t know if I’ll ever be the guy that goes out and f—-ing announces he’s retiring, I don’t know if I could do that. I don’t know if I’ll be the guy a year from now that’s like, ‘I want to fight.’ So I’m just not gonna make any f—-ing announcement.”