Max Holloway earned his second straight title defense — thirteenth straight win overall — after defeating Brian Ortega via fourth-round technical knockout (TKO) at UFC 231 last Saturday night (Dec. 8, 2018) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
See the all-out brawl here.
Now, it seems “Blessed” could be setting his sights on Lightweight after running through the Featherweight division over the past five years. Not so fast, says Frankie Edgar, who believes he should be next in line to face Holloway.
“I already rang Dana up and he said we are going to talk,” he said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show. “I had that title shot, it was mine, and then Max got hurt, it happens. And on two weeks notice I just said throw anybody in there. I want to fight,” Edgar added about his willingness to face anyone on short notice after his title fight fell through.
Indeed, Edgar and Holloway were set to face off at UFC 222 earlier this year, but after “Blessed” was forced out of the title fight with an injury, “The Answer” agreed to face Brian Ortega last-minute. While commendable, the move didn’t work out well for Edgar, who suffered his first-ever knockout loss at the hands of “T-City.” Edgar did bounce back one month later to edge out Cub Swanson in Atlantic City via unanimous decision.
“Things didn’t go my way, obviously, I got caught with that shot. But, I ran it back with Cub and was able to get a win. I think I am next in line and I think we should go back to that fight. I think Holloway, not that he owes me anything, but, I think we want to get that one done,” he added.
“I told (Dana), I gave my shot up, and maybe it wasn’t the best idea, but I thought I was going to win that fight and it didn’t go my way. And he said ‘we will see,’” he said. “If Max stays I am definitely the guy for him to fight at 145. If he goes up, who knows, I think Max wants to stay at 145 and we have unfinished business. I am not Ortega, and I am a different type of fighter than him, a different challenge for Max and I think I am the guy that can get it done.”
While a fight pitting Holloway vs. Edgar may be the more sexy bout because of name value alone, Renato Moicano could ruin the party. That’s because Renato has won two straight and is 5-1 inside the Octagon since making his debut in 2014.
That said, since Holloway just competed and is deserving of a good rest after his war against Ortega, perhaps Moicano and Edgar can get it on in a true No. 1 contenders fight to see who’s really deserving.
Just a thought.