Dominick Cruz knocks out Frankie Edgar in UFC retirement

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Joe Rogan and Frankie Edgar

Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar is retiring after another trip to the Octagon and he wants to be paired with Dominick Cruz. Well, the former bantamweight champion is down as well.

Edgar (October 24) told ESPN in a recent interview that November at the supposed Madison Square Garden event in New York City would be the perfect send-off for him. At 40, “The Answer” is 1-4 in his final five rounds, including consecutive knock-out losses to 135-pound fighters Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen.

“I’ve been thinking about retiring since my last game,” Edgar told the outlet. “The last two games obviously didn’t go the way I wanted. If I’m being honest, I’ll fight forever – but that’s selfish of my family and those who care about me.

“I need to announce my retirement so I can have a retirement fight and set sail in the sunset.”

Edgar & Cruz become champions at the same time, the answer calls it ‘legacy war’

And for Edgar, fighting Cruz at MSG was the perfect fit for his final trip to the cage. From 2010 to 2012, Edgar and Cruz held their respective UFC belts simultaneously. A decade later, The Answer competed in bantamweight three times, with a score of 1-2.

Fans and pundits have linked Edgar and Cruz as a potential puzzle piece for years, and considering Edgar competes with several other legends from his generation, including Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber, the match makes sense from a legacy point of view.

“I was never the one to call or pick anyone, I usually let the UFC or [manager Ali Abdelaziz] figure that out,” Edgar continued. “But I will say a name, just because I think it is more of a legacy war. I know he has a fight coming up and who knows how that could go down, but Dominick Cruz – he’s championed at 135 [pounds] when I won at the age of 155.

“We are both league leaders. It could be a fun fight.”

Cruz ‘won’t say no’ to fight Edgar

Cruz is scheduled to face Vera on August 13 as the headline action for the promotion’s return to San Diego, California. “The Dominator” focuses on surpassing “Chito” on his way to the UFC gold medal, but he “won’t say no” to stopping to fight his future Hall of Famer co-star.

“You know, I’m not going to say no to Frank Edgar. He is a legend in sports. That guy, he’s done a lot and you know just think about it, he’s done a lot. You have these emerging characters that people don’t know well about,” Cruz told The Schmo in a recent interview (h/t MMA News). “He just wanted to fight someone known who could make people watch and I’ve been here a long time.

“He’s been around a long time. So I know where it’s coming from and Frankie has always been great. So I don’t have beef with him. “

“The Dominator” (24-3) is on a two-fight winning streak, beating both Pedro Munhoz and Casey Kenney by decision, and is currently ranked 8th at bantamweight. Edgar sits in 12th place.