Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) invaded Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, last night (Sat., July 27, 2019) to stage UFC 240 from inside Rogers Place. In the main event of the evening, Max Holloway retained his Featherweight title by defeating Frankie Edgar via a clear-cut unanimous decision victory (see it again here). In the co-main event, Cris Cyborg had to go a full 15 minutes to get a decision over a very tough Felicia Spencer, who took some of Cyborg’s best shots on her way to losing on all of the judges’ scorecards (see it).
Winner: Max Holloway
Who He Should Fight Next: Alexander Volkanovski
After Volkanovski was snubbed by UFC in favor of giving Frankie Edgar the title fight at UFC 240, “The Hulk” put on his brave face, and even made the trip to Canada to serve as a back up. Though his services weren’t needed, Volkanovski was good knowing he was set to face the winner.
This is a tough match up for both men — Volkanovski is riding a 17-fight win streak and is undefeated thus far inside the Octagon with seven wins, including his previous one against Jose Aldo. Holloway, meanwhile, has shown he is the absolute best ever at 145 pounds inside the Octagon, winning 14 straight, defeating Aldo twice, demolishing Brian Ortega and putting on a clinic against Edgar. This fight has all of the makings of an all-out war, now it just remains to be seen if UFC can convince Holloway to face Volkanovski in two months at UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia …. health permitting.
Winner: Cris Cyborg
Who She Should Fight Next: Amanda Nunes
Look, I know Cyborg isn’t too happy with Dana White, but UFC’s head honcho has gone on record to say that he would offer the Brazilian a fight against Nunes if she earned a win against Spencer. Now that she has that out of the way, it only makes sense for her to take the one-fight deal White is promising her.
It gives her the chance to get one back on Nunes and prove White wrong about not wanting to run it back. If she doesn’t take the one-fight offer and goes elsewhere, it will leave that cloud over her for the rest of her career. And who knows, is she sticks around to face Nunes, perhaps she can come to terms with UFC for a long-term deal and get paid.
Winner: Geoff Neal
Who He Should Fight Next: Mike Perry
Don’t look know, but Neal has won four in a row. Unfortunately for him, he’s in perhaps the most stacked UFC — the Welterweight division is filled with sharks ready for their chance to take a bite out of the title. Up next for Neal, a showdown against Mike Perry sounds about right.
While it may be a tough one to convince Perry to take the fight because Neal doesn’t have the biggest name out there at the moment, I like this fight for both men. Perry has faced his share of killers inside the Octagon, but he is only 2-3 in his last five fights. While the match up seems a bit odd seeing as how Neal is perfect (4-0) inside the Octagon, it will give him a chance to take out a decent name on his way to breaking into the Top 15.
Winner: Arman Tsarukyan
Who He Should Fight Next: Gilbert Burns
Tsarukyan got back into the win column to go 1-1 inside the Octagon with a pretty solid performance over Olivier Aubin-Mercier. Since he is young in his UFC career, Tsarukyan has a long road to travel if he wants to remain on the main card of a pay-per-view (PPV) event.
A fight and subsequent win over a long-time UFC vet like Gilbert Burns will help. Burns has fought 11 times inside the Octagon and is currently on a two-fight win streak. He can provide a stiff test for Arman, as it will let us know just how the Armenian does against a grizzled veteran.
Winner: Krzysztof Jotko
Who He Should Face Next: Marvin Vettori
Jotko picked up his second straight win – the first time since 2016 – by narrowly outscoring Marc-Andre Barriault to earn a split-decision. Vettori, meanwhile, got back in the win column a few weeks ago by defeating Cezar Ferreira. Both men are looking to creep into the Top 15, though they have each had a tough time finding consistency under the UFC umbrella.
While a win for either man here won’t necessary get them ranked, it’s a huge step, as they each need wins anywhere they can get them. Both men like to stand-and-bang, so it’s sure-to-be fire once they get locked in the cage.
To get full results and play-by-play updates of UFC 240: “Holloway vs Edgar” click here.