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UFC 240: Max Holloway and Frankie Edgar Octagon Interviews

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Max Holloway just made a third title defense look easy against a former lightweight champion, and Joe Rogan got both men to open up about it in the cage.

UFC 240 landed at Rogers Place in Edmonton on July 27, 2019, with Holloway putting his featherweight belt on the line against Frankie Edgar in a fight that had been scrapped twice before. Five rounds later, the champion walked away with a clean unanimous decision, and both men sat down with Rogan for interviews that said as much about their fighting philosophies as the scorecards did. It capped a rebound run for Holloway just three months after he came up short in his bid for a second title at 155 pounds.

• Holloway retained his UFC Featherweight Championship via unanimous decision, with scores of 50-45, 49-46, and 48-47.
• Holloway stuffed 14 of Edgar’s 15 takedown attempts and out-landed him 129 to 96 in significant strikes across five rounds.
• The bout had been scheduled and canceled twice before, at UFC 218 and UFC 222, before finally happening at UFC 240.

A Jab That Solved the Wrestling Problem

Edgar built his Hall of Fame résumé on relentless forward pressure and takedowns, but Holloway’s game plan on fight night was built around denying him exactly that. Edgar attempted 15 takedowns over the five rounds and got exactly one to stick, a staggering shutdown for a fighter whose whole career has run through the wrestling. Holloway did it from the outside, working behind a stiff jab, upper cuts, and straight punches that kept Edgar chasing distance he couldn’t close.

The strike differential told the story just as clearly as the takedown stats: Holloway landed 129 significant strikes to Edgar’s 96, piling up volume every round without ever needing to gamble on a finish. It was championship-level range management against a former lightweight titleholder who has given trouble to nearly everyone he’s faced, and the judges saw it lopsided enough that one card read 50-45.

Holloway Discusses Career With Rogan

Standing in the Octagon with his belt still around his waist, Holloway didn’t spend his interview talking about himself. He turned the moment toward Edgar, calling him a legend and crediting him as a source of inspiration for the kind of career longevity and heart Holloway said he’s always tried to model his own fighting after.

Holloway told Rogan he always wanted to fight with the same heart and longevity Edgar has shown across his career.

It’s the kind of respect that only gets paid after a fight this hard-fought, from a champion who knew exactly how much Edgar’s wrestling pedigree threatened his night.

Edgar’s Reaction and What Comes Next

Edgar, for his part, was gracious in defeat. He acknowledged Holloway’s range control and jab as the difference-maker, admitting he simply couldn’t find a way inside against a champion fighting at that level of precision. The loss ended his bid to become a two-division UFC champion, a goal he’d chased since giving up his lightweight title years earlier.

He stopped short of committing to anything about his future, declining to confirm retirement or a drop to bantamweight when Rogan asked him directly. For a fighter who has now challenged for major titles at three different weights, that uncertainty says as much about respect for the sport as it does about what’s left in the tank.

The Bigger Picture for Holloway

This win mattered beyond the belt itself. Holloway was coming off a loss to Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight title just three months earlier, and beating a name as respected as Edgar’s put him firmly back atop the 145-pound division with his résumé fully intact. Three successful title defenses now sit on his ledger, against a murderers’ row of featherweight contenders.

Whatever’s next for Holloway at 145, or wherever he decides to test himself down the line, this performance is the one opponents will point to when they talk about how hard it is to get inside on him. Edgar walked out of Rogers Place with nothing but respect for the man who beat him and no clear answer on what comes next — which, for a guy who’s fought basically everybody in two divisions, is about as honest an answer as you’ll get.