UFC 240: Holloway vs Edgar - Odds and Predictions

Where: Rogers Place – Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

When: Saturday, July 27, 10PM EST

How (TV): UFC Fight Pass, ESPN+, pay-per-view

(C) Max Holloway (20-4) vs Frankie Edgar (23-6-1) – Featherweight division

Two of the UFC’s best are finally set to clash as featherweight champion Max Holloway will face off against Frankie Edgar in the main event of UFC 240. The two fighters have been scheduled to fight for the title twice before but both fights were scrapped due to injury. The initial bout was supposed to take place at UFC 218 but Edgar had to pull out and was replaced by Jose Aldo. The fight was rescheduled for UFC 222 but it was Holloway who had to pull out of the fight. Edgar faced top-contender Brian Ortega instead and ended up losing by first-round knockout. With that win, Ortega took Edgar’s place as the number-one contender to Holloway’s title. Holloway later defended his belt against Ortega, handing “T-City” his first professional loss.

After a 13-fight winning streak that included three title defenses, Holloway, 27, lost his last fight against Dustin Poirier in an attempt to become a ‘double champ’. The fight was for the interim lightweight title that would determine a number-one contender for Khabib Nurmagomedov’s undisputed title while he was off serving his suspension. Holloway lost the bout via unanimous decision. It was his first fight at lightweight in the UFC.

”Blessed” stands at 5 feet, 11 inches tall, giving him a significant height advantage in his fight against Edgar. He also possesses a reach of 69 inches. Holloway fights out of Hawaii and trains with Gracie Technics. The champion has a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Rylan Lizares and Pedro Sauer but is mostly known for his striking – even holding the UFC record for most significant strikes landed in a fight (against Ortega).

Frankie Edgar, 37, is no stranger to UFC records himself, as he holds the record for the most time spent in the octagon at 6 hours, 47 minutes, and 33 seconds. He is also third in UFC history for landing the most career significant strikes (Holloway is first, and Michael Bisping is second overall).

Since losing an interim title fight against Jose Aldo at UFC 200, Edgar has gone 3-1; the lone loss coming against the aforementioned Brian Ortega. His last fight came on April 28 of this year where he won a unanimous decision over Cub Swanson. He also defeated Yair Rodriguez and Jeremy Stephens during that four-fight run.

Standing at just 5 feet, 6 inches tall, Edgar will fall five inches shorter than Holloway. However, there will only be a one-inch reach advantage for the champ as Edgar has a reach of 68 inches. Also known for his striking, Edgar trains his boxing skills with coach Mark Henry and the KHK MMA Fight Team. He also trains with Ricardo Almeida BJJ and has a first-degree black belt in the discipline under coach Almeida. He also has NCAA division 1 wrestling credentials. He is currently ranked fourth in the UFC featherweight division and is a former lightweight champion.

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Cris Cyborg (20-2) vs Felicia Spencer (7-0) – Women’s featherweight division

After going undefeated since 2005, Cyborg, 34, suffered only her second career loss against Amanda Nunes at UFC 232 on December 29, 2018. She was defeated via first-round, first-minute knockout – a loss that came as a shock to many MMA fans. Cyborg was the UFC’s inaugural women’s featherweight champion, having won it in 2017 and defending it two times. She was very vocal about wanting a rematch with Nunes but the fight was never made available as Nunes dropped back down to bantamweight to defend her belt against Holly Holm. The loss snapped a 13-year, 20-fight win streak for Cyborg.

Standing at 5 feet, 8 inches tall, Cyborg has a reach of 68 inches. She fights out San Diego, California with the Chute Boxe Academy and at the RVCA Training Center. Known for her technical striking abilities and raw power, Cyborg holds a black belt in muay thai under Rafael Cordeiro and a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Andre Galvao. She is also a former Strikeforce champion.

Felicia Spencer, 28, made a big statement in her UFC debut on May 18 earlier this year. Spencer took on the significantly taller Megan Anderson and managed to submit her via rear-naked choke in the first round. Prior to joining the UFC, Spencer fought for the female promotion Invicta FC where she went 6-0.

”Feenom”, although from Canada, fights out of Orlando, Florida with her head coach Mike Lee at Jungle MMA. She has been active in MMA since 2012 and has black belt in both Brazilian jiu-jitsu and taekwondo. She is the former Invicta FC featherweight champion and relinquished the title after signing with the UFC.

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Geoff Neal (11-2) vs Niko Price (13-2-1) – Welterweight division

Geoff Neal, 28, is currently riding a five-fight win streak that includes three wins in the UFC and one on the Dana White Contender Series. He made his UFC debut in early 2018 and defeated Brian Camozzi by first-round submission. He then went on to defeat Frank Camacho by second-round knockout. Neal last fought on January 19 of this year against Belal Muhammad. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Geoff Neal stands at 5 feet, 11 inches tall and has a reach of 75 inches. Known for his stand-up abilities, he has been active in MMA since 2012 and trains under coach Sayif Saud at the Fortis MMA gym out of Harker Heights, Texas. He currently attends college and works as a bartender outside of the UFC and is thus far unranked in the welterweight division.

Niko Price, 29, has been making a lot of waves in the welterweight division recently. Going 3-1 in his last four UFC fights, all three of those wins were by stoppage (one submission and two knockouts). He also received two performance of the night bonuses during that stretch. His last fight was on March 9 earlier this year where he fought Tim Means. He defeated Means by first-round KO.

”The Hybrid” stands at an even 6 feet tall and has a reach of 76 inches – a one inch advantage over his opponent. The American-born fighter trains with the Futures MMA gym and has a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

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Olivier Aubin-Mercier (11-4) vs Arman Tsarukyan (13-2) – Lightweight division

After a four-fight win streak spanning from 2016 to 2018, Olivier Aubin-Mercier, 30, has tasted defeat in his last two bouts – both by unanimous decision. Aubin-Mercier last fought at UFC 231 in his home country of Canada on December 8, 2018. There he fought Gilbert Burns and lost. Prior to that he had lost to Alexander Hernandez.

”The Quebec Kid” stands at 5 feet, 9 inches tall and has a reach of 70.5 inches. He recently moved gyms and now trains with head coach Firas Zahabi at Tristar gym – the gym most notable for being the training grounds for welterweight great Georges St. Pierre – one of Aubin-Mercier’s new training partners. Aubin-Mercier has a southpaw stance and has a black belt in judo, a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and a blue belt in taekwondo. He has been active in MMA since 2011.

Arman Tsarukyan, 22, is making only his second UFC appearance this Saturday night. Earlier this year, on April 20, Tsarukyan lost his UFC debut against lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov’s training partner, Islam Makhachev. It was only his second career loss and he lost via unanimous decision.

The Armenian fighter stands at 5 feet, 8 inches tall and has a reach of 72.5 inches, giving him a two inch advantage over his opponent. He fights out of Krasnodar, Russia with Khaborovsk MMA. He is mostly recognized for his freestyle wrestling style.

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Marc-Andre Barriault vs Krzysztof Jotko (20-4) – Middleweight division

Like Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Marc-Andre Barriault is also from Quebec, Canada. And like Aubin-Mercier’s opponent Arman Tsarukyan, Barriault is also coming off of a UFC debut loss. The former TKO champion debut for the UFC on May 4 of this year and lost a unanimous decision to Andrew Sanchez. It was only his second career loss.

Training out of Quebec with Patenaude Kung Fu, the 29-year-old stands at an even 6 feet tall. He has a reach of 73 inches – a four inch disadvantage in this upcoming middleweight fight. Nicknamed “The Powerbar”, Barriault trains with coaches Serge Gratton and Dany Laflamme.

Krzysztof Jotko, 29, recently snapped a three-fight losing streak earlier this year. After a split-decision and two TKO loses, Jotko rebounded on April 20 when he fought and defeated Alen Amedovski via unanimous decision. Prior to his three-fight losing streak, Jotko was on a five-fight winning streak in the UFC.

The Polish fighter stands at 6 feet, 1 inch tall and has a 77 inch reach. He fights out of Orneta, Poland and is affiliated with the American Top Team gym. He has been active in MMA since 2010 and has a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He is currently unranked by the UFC.

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UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs Edwards results

Leon Edwards def. Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision

Walt Harris def. Aleksei Oleinik via KO (Round 1)

Greg Hardy def. Juan Adams via TKO (Round 1)

Dan Hooker def. James Vick via KO (Round 1)

Alexander Hernandez def. Francisco Trinaldo via unanimous decision

Andrei Arlovski def. Ben Rothwell via unanimous decision