Yves Edwards to Frankie Edgar: ‘Let your brain rest and recover’

On March 3^rd, former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar suffered his first-ever knockout loss courtesy of Brian Ortega in the first round of their co-headliner fight at UFC 222. On April 21^st, “The Answer” will be facing Cub Swanson in a rematch for the UFC’s Fight Night event in Atlantic City.

Many are not keen on the idea of Edgar fighting just seven weeks after he was knocked out, including UFC analyst Joe Rogan and former lightweight fighter Yves Edwards.

“I feel like Frankie wants this fight so he can get that taste out of his mouth, but it’s still going to taste the same,” Edwards told Rogan in a recent episode of the JRE MMA Show podcast (transcript via MMAjunkie). “Any time you go back and watch that fight you’re still going to have those feelings. You’re going to win your next fight more than likely. You’re Frankie Edgar. You don’t have to rush it. Let your brain rest and recover.”

Rogan agrees with Edwards, saying it is a fight that can be made six months down the line. And despite the fact that Edgar won in dominant fashion in their first fight, Rogan is still giving major props to what Swanson can bring to the table, along with other motivations.

“He fought Cub just a couple of years ago and just mauled him and got a last-second submission. Maybe he just thinks, ‘There’s not a f—ng thing in the world this guy can do to stop me,” Rogan said. “’I f—d him up before and I’ll f—k him up again. I’m not even going to get hit, I’m just going to get ahold of him and I’ll rag doll him just like I did before.’”

“But Cub Swanson can crack. He can crack. And he’s got a kid now, and he’s got a second kid along the way and he does not quit. That makes dudes hungry. That fight is probably a massive motivating factor for Cub Swanson.”

For his part, Edgar is determined to erase his recent loss with a win but has been careful during training, avoiding head shots during sparring.