Frankie Edgar is jumping right back into the fire with a bout at UFC Atlantic City against the always-dangerous Cub Swanson.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto first reported on the UFC Atlantic City bout.
Both men were unfortunately caught in the path of Brian Ortega’s hype train in their most recent appearance. Cub Swanson was trapped in a second-round guillotine, while Edgar was knocked out in stunning fashion at UFC 222 in the very first round. It was the first time that Edgar had ever been stopped in his lengthy career. Now both men have a chance to re-insert themselves into the title picture quickly.
Swanson and Edgar met for the first time four years ago, and Edgar submitted Swanson with less than five seconds left in the five-round fight. Killer Cub was on an impressive six-fight win streak before headlining against the former lightweight champion.
Frankie Edgar has been one of the most successful UFC fighters of the past decade, racking up a 16-5-1 record, with four of those losses coming in title fights. After losing two straight title fights to Benson Henderson, Edgar dropped to featherweight and did not look back, winning seven of nine fights before the loss to Ortega. Edgar was born and raised in New Jersey and will certainly have the crowd behind him in Atlantic City.
Cub Swanson has also found great success in the Octagon, and has held a top ten spot in the featherweight rankings since the inception of the system. After losses to both Frankie Edgar and Max Holloway, Swanson rattled off four consecutive wins, including a fight of the year against Doo Ho Choi, before his latest loss. That fight was the last on his contract, and there was some speculation that he would not be kept around after being passed over for a title shot multiple times. This booking indicates a new deal has been reached for the featherweight staple.
UFC Atlantic City will take place on April 21 inside the Boardwalk Hall with a main event of Kevin Lee vs. Edson Barboza. Aljamain Sterling will also take on Brett Johns, and Thiago Santos will look to continue his knockout-laden run against David Branch.
