Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone, as the UFC 240 pay-per-view (PPV) blew the roof off Rogers Arena last Sat. night (July 27, 2019) in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Felicia Spencer, who suffered the first loss of her professional career after three hard-fought rounds against former women’s Featherweight champion, Cris Cyborg (see it again here). And Niko Price, who was knocked out by Geoff Neal after an intense back-and-forth brawl (recap).
But, which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now two days removed from the show?
Frankie Edgar.
Coming into his title fight against division kingpin Max Holloway, it’s hard to believe that Edgar didn’t have it in the back of his head that this was a do-or-die situation for him (at least as far as getting title shots at 145 pounds is concerned). After all, he came up short twice before, both times losing decisions to Jose Aldo.
But after working his way back up the ladder — and even after suffering the first knockout loss of his career — “The Answer” found himself staring down perhaps the greatest Featherweight of all time. And after 25 minutes, Edgar found out first-hand just how great “Blessed” really is.
Edgar did have some shining moments throughout the fight, but everything was done according to Holloway’s pace, who used his length and distance to keep Edgar at bay, all while peppering away at his face with nice jabs and overall precise striking
It was a clear-cut victory for “Blessed,” giving him his third title defense at 145 pounds. Edgar, meanwhile, showed heart and grit like always, demonstrating he still has a lot of fight left in him after the defeat.
As for what’s next for “The Answer,” perhaps a drop down to Bantamweight could finally be in his future. It’s no secret Edgar e has always given away size and pounds inside the Octagon, something he alluded to last night. That said, it has never stopped him from taking out some of the best in the business, even capturing the Lightweight title back in 2010.
On that note, can you imagine just how much more he would’ve accomplished had he been fighting at 135 pounds throughout his career? Sure, he can move back up to Lightweight, but that division is so top-heavy at the moment that a title shot for Edgar doesn’t seem likely.
At 135 pounds, he won’t get a title shot straight away (and he shouldn’t), but he will get a highly-ranked opponent. There are some fun match ups for him there such as one against Dominick Cruz, Jimmie Rivera, or even someone like Cody Garbrandt before he starts facing Top 5-ranked opponents.
If he decides to stay at Featherweight, the climb back up to another title fight might be a bit tough with guys like Alexander Volkanovski, Brian Ortega, Chan Sung Jung and Zabit Magomedsharipov waiting in the wings.
For much more on UFC 240 click here.