Max Holloway returned to 145 pounds to defend his crown after hurdles kept showing up in front of him, Frankie Edgar, and their proposed fights.
Holloway has had four fights canceled and a loss in a year and a half, his most frustrating stretch of his career. Two of those cancelations were against Edgar himself, who hadn't competed in 15 months ahead of UFC 240.
Nothing quite like it!
— UFC (@ufc) July 28, 2019
The title is on the line in Edmonton -- #UFC240 pic.twitter.com/XUkVzchYgn
The months were not kind to Edgar. While a formidable opponent and challenger, he could never quite get going to the level necessary to put away Holloway. The technically superior Holloway was able to play the range game and pepper away at Edgar for much of the fight, en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Masterful way to end the round -- #UFC240 pic.twitter.com/23zh3cyTJU
— UFC (@ufc) July 28, 2019
For Holloway, it was technically his third successful defense of the Featherweight championship, though it was his fifth title fight win in the UFC in six tries. He trails Jose Aldo, who had nine defenses including the WEC crown, and Urijah Faber, who had five WEC title defenses in just 18 months.
It would appear Alexander Volkanovski is next up for Holloway. The top contender was actually at UFC 240 and made weight in the event that one of the night's main event competitors couldn't end up making the show.
Finally notches takedown number 1️⃣! #UFC240 pic.twitter.com/AQkfawtpm0
— UFC (@ufc) July 28, 2019
You can see our full coverage of UFC 240 at this link, and visit Fightful.com for our post-show podcast, news and more. We'll also discuss the show on Tuesday at 2 PM EST with Showdown Joe Ferraro on the Fightful MMA Podcast.
