UFC 130: Frankie Edgar Discusses Sidelining Injury

“All of the reports are talking about my ribs, it’s actually my back,” says Edgar. “My back’s been bothering me for quite some time. A few weeks ago I had to take a week off so that my back could calm down and I was trying to fight through it. I got through it and it kept blowing out on me here and there but then I ended up blowing out a rib last week. My rib kept popping in and out and then last week my back went out on me really bad, so I went to see a doctor and he said I’ve got bulging discs and now I’m going to go see a specialist to see what he can do about it.”
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“I saw a UFC doctor yesterday and he said my L2 and L5 discs are bulged, and he recommended that I don’t fight right now,” Edgar said. “I can’t even put my socks on or hold my kids, it’s pretty bad right now.”
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“I think it was more my fault than anyone else’s fault to be honest,” he said. “I was trying to favor my back and probably putting too much pressure on my abs and compounded the injury when the rib popped out. I really don’t know for sure but it’s just unfortunate.”
A rupture of a disc causes the “shock absorbers” between two vertebrae to leak, causing the bones to grind against one another. Consequently, nerve irritation and bone instability causes severe back pain.
“I was planning on going through with the fight with the back injury,” says Edgar. “I didn’t want to postpone the bout at all. I feel like I lost the fight right now. I’m very depressed about this whole situation. I’m sure in a couple of days I’ll realize I did the right thing by going to see a doctor. It’s not fair to myself, to Gray, it’s not fair to the fans to take a fight like this. I mean, I’m never 100 percent healthy when I step in the Octagon anyway but this is something different. I’m not even 30% right now. When it’s really inflamed, the pain is excruciating. When it happened on Saturday the drive back home from Ricardo’s was the longest drive of my life.”

Edgar goes on to explain he had back surgery at the age of 18, but isn’t sure if this current injury is related to the previous one.

This news coming out the day after the UFC announces their insurance plan could not be more appropriate in terms of underscoring just how valuable this will be for fighters. Edgar likely earns enough fighting to cover virtually any medical expense incurred during training, but his injury is indicative of the strains any high-level professional fighter can face. Moreover, while Edgar is displaying otherwordly abilities to gut through tortuous pain and injury, many fighters display equal levels of unhealthy grit. The value of the UFC insurance policy is not just that fighters will be able to receive better medical care generally, but also prevent more serious injuries from happening by not dangerous ailments with them into competition.