EDMONTON, Alberta — The UFC 240 main event features a dominant featherweight champion in Max Holloway defending his crown Saturday night against Frankie Edgar, who is looking to make the most of what could be his last shot at winning a title.
Holloway, 27, has won 13 straight fights at 145 pounds, with many calling “Blessed” the greatest featherweight of all time. He’ll look to continue his run against the 37-year-old Edgar, a former UFC lightweight champ.
But before the title fight, there are several bouts with key implications, including the unbeaten Felicia Spencer taking on Cris Cyborg. Here’s how they’re going down in Edmonton, Alberta.
Gavin Tucker defeated Seungwoo Choi by third-round submission
Tucker tried the entire fight to get Choi down and himself into a dominant position. There were varying degrees of success throughout the bout, most of which Tucker won. Finally, in the third, Tucker got Choi’s back, flattened him out and got the submission he wanted — a rear-naked choke submission at 3:17 of the final round.
Tucker’s game plan was pretty obvious from the beginning: get Choi down. He did for short periods, but Choi was always able to scramble and escape. On the feet, Choi did well. But Tucker continued to execute his strategy until the stoppage came. In the second, Tucker had a point taken after he landed a knee to a grounded Choi.
Tucker (10-1) was coming off the first loss of his career against Rick Glenn in September 2017, here in Edmonton. Tucker, 33, took a ton of damage in that bout, suffering several broken bones in his face leading to a nearly two-year layoff. It was the fifth career submission win for the Canadian. Choi (7-3), a 26-year-old Korean fighter, has lost both of his UFC fights.
Deiveson Figueiredo defeated Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision
Figueiredo and Pantoja might not have been directly fighting to show people why the UFC should keep its flyweight division alive. But that was the outcome.
In a fight of the night contender, the two lightning-fast Brazilians threw down for three rounds. Figueiredo had Pantoja busted up and bleeding from multiple cuts on his face by the end for a unanimous decision victory (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Coming in, Pantoja and Figueiredo were ranked No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, in ESPN’s flyweight rankings.
Figueiredo dropped Pantoja in the second round and landed several standing elbows in the third in a frenetic performance done largely with his hands down coming forward. Pantoja landed some hard punches late in the third, but it was too late.
Figueiredo (16-1) rebounded here from the first loss of his career, against Jussier Formiga at UFC Nashville in March. The 31-year-old is 5-1 in the UFC. Pantoja (21-4), a 29-year-old Ultimate Fighter alum, had won three straight coming in.
Gillian Robertson defeated Sarah Frota by second-round TKO
Robertson went right into Frota’s biggest strength — grappling — and managed to finish her. “Savage” indeed.
Robertson, a Canada native who lives in Florida, beat Frota by TKO at 4:13 of the second round via some nasty ground and pound from mount. By the end, Frota was bleeding from cuts over both eyes, courtesy of slicing Robertson elbows.
Robertson took Frota down in the first and had a varying amount of success in an active guard. In the second, Robertson imposed her will against a wilting Frota.
Robertson (7-3) has won two in a row and four UFC victories, the most in the fledgling women’s flyweight division. This was the first TKO victory of the 24-year-old’s young career. Frota (9-2), a 27-year-old Brazilian, has lost two straight to start her UFC run.
Erik Koch defeated Kyle Stewart by unanimous decision
“New Breed” is in a new weight class and looked like a new fighter.
Koch, who once fought as light as featherweight, debuted at welterweight Saturday night and defeated Stewart by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28). Stewart was content to clinch and pressure his smaller opponent against the cage. But the grappling game actually went the way of Koch in the end. He was able to take Stewart down in the third round and seal a victory with big elbows from mount and half guard.
Koch (16-6) earned his first victory since 2016. The Iowa native had not fought since January 2018. Koch, 30, snapped a two-fight losing streak. Stewart (11-3), a 30-year-old Arizona native, has dropped two straight.
Still to come…
Hakeem Dawodu vs. Yoshinori Horie
Alexis Davis vs. Viviane Araujo
Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Krzysztof Jotko
Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Arman Tsarukyan
Geoff Neal vs. Niko Price
Cris Cyborg vs. Felicia Spencer
Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar