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One of the dangers of accepting late replacement fights is that a loss looks like a loss in the scrolling sense of Wikipedia. However, the defeat of Frankie Edgar against Brian Ortega at UFC 222 could easily support an asterisk. He was supposed to fight Max Holloway in Las Vegas and – when Holloway was injured – chose to stay on the map and face the next best. This was the young Ortega pistol.
Edgar lost the match after the knockout stage, but helped save an event.
That's why Edgar – who rebounded to beat Cub Swanson in April – was not too stressful when Alexander Volkanovski won his winning streak at 17 in a row with his victory over Jose Aldo at UFC 237 this weekend. Volkanovski had glaring powers and hysteria of the moment, but Edgar had circumstances and a legacy to act on behalf of the UFC.
"I felt [next for Holloway] just based on the conversations I've had with the UFC and all the rest, but you never know, "Edgar told MMA Fighting on Tuesday, just a day after the announcement of the new that Edgar and Holloway were going to fight at UFC 240 in Edmonton, Alberta in July 27
"I was told that I had already had blows and that I did not have them. Of course, I did not really hold my breath, I wanted to make sure I had an agreement and then I knew it was real. "
For Edgar, this will be the third time he and Holloway will try to compete. They had to first fight at UFC 218 in Toronto, but Edgar was forced to retire due to an injury. Holloway finally saw Jose Aldo, whom he had won the title six months earlier at UFC 212.
They were then asked to fight at UFC 222, and this time it was Holloway who had collapsed. The two men have been in the line of sight for over a year and are gradually moving away. That's why, for Edgar, he hopes to have the charm for the third time.
"Every time I prepare for [Holloway] I feel like I'm getting ready for a better version, "he says. "It's getting better all the time and it's a big part of our weight class. He is considered the best featherweight of all time. So these are the positions in which I want to continue to position myself. I want to continue to challenge myself. If I want to take the belt, I want to take the belt of the best featherweight of all time. This is my opportunity.
"Remember, nine years ago, I was fighting for a belt that no one thought they could win against the best light weight ever, so it's good for me."
Nine years ago, Edgar was retained as a big underdog to challenge B.J. Penn at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. Few people gave Edgar a chance to defeat the GOAT consensus, but he managed to make a unanimous decision and consolidate his name as a champion.
Since he's lost his UFC 144 title against Benson Henderson, Edgar is on the warpath to reclaim him. He was engaged in three fights for the following titles: the rematch against Henderson at the UFC 150, and then two fights with King featherweight, Jose Aldo, but they all failed. The title proved to be a difficult goal for Edgar, who is now 37 years old. Nevertheless, in the last 10 fights, he lost 8-2, including the last fitness fight against Ortega.
This kind of road should lead somewhere, and Edgar is all smiles. This eventually led to a coveted fight against the Hawaiian, Holloway.
"We are still more than 10 weeks into the fight and I am upset today," he says. "I woke up and went to train. I have a smile on my face and I am confident that I have this opportunity. But it's still so far and I've been here before. So, I have to make sure we go to battle, go to the meeting place and get there.
"But ten weeks this Saturday, it will be the perfect time, I trained, I was injured for a while, last month and a half, I finally got back to the gym to do things. So it's a perfect timing, I feel like I'm fit to do it now. "
The injury suffered by Edgar – a ripped bicep that forced him to give up a fight with Chan Sung Jung last November – is finally completely healed. "It took forever, but it's 100%," he says. Now, the goal is to stay healthy for his long-awaited participation with Holloway in Alberta, a fight he believes he has earned better through his actions.
As for Volkanovski, who was hospitalized Sunday for a blood infection? He hopes that he is fine soon and that he can wait.
"I think that should count," he says of his resume. "Do you hear Dana [White] and UFC Brass, they love people who fit in, they like guys who are ready to put everything into play, and I think I've done my whole career. And I think that's why I was rewarded.
"I think so, based on my past with the UFC, and then on the landscape of the road that happened with me and Holloway, I think that makes sense. I do not want to take anything away from Alex, he's a stud fighter. He won several fights in a row. He will have his time. I was him not so long ago, and he is going to have his time. I know he's probably a little upset because I've been there before. But his time will come.
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