UFC 240 live results: Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar

Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 240: Holloway vs. Edgar, emanating from the Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

The Octagon heads to Edmonton for the second time with a long-awaited featherweight title fight in the main event between two of the UFC’s all-time great fighters.

UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway defends his championship against former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar in the main event. This fight has been almost two years in the making as it had been canceled two prior times due to injury to both men, but is now finally happening. Holloway actually lost his last fight, coming up short in an interim lightweight title fight against Dustin Poirier, but he has won 13 straight fights at 145 pounds. Edgar hasn’t fought since an April 2018 win over Cub Swanson.

In the co-main event, it is former UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion Cris Cyborg, in what could be her final UFC fight as it is the last fight on her contract, taking on the undefeated Felicia Spencer. Also on the main card is what should be a fireworks bout in the welterweight division as Geoff Neal takes on Niko Price.

Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern time with preliminary action all the way through the main card.

We are looking for your thoughts on tonight’s event, so send a thumbs up, a thumbs down or a thumbs in the middle along with a best fight and a worst fight to Dave at dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

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> Erik Koch (15-6, 4-5 UFC) vs. Kyle Stewart (11-2, 0-1 UFC)
Welterweights

The opening five minutes were fairly tentative, particularly the striking. Stewart tried for several takedowns, but all he managed to do was turn them into clinches along the cage. Both men traded control with those clinches, but neither was able to translate the control into much damage. 10-9 Stewart (but a very close round).

Each man’s striking was crisper in the second round, particularly a right early on that seemed to daze Koch. There was more clinching along the cage with Stewart getting the best of it. Koch gained control with a heel trip along the fence and dropped Stewart. Stewart managed to get to his feet, but did eat some strikes on his way up. 10-9 Koch, 19-19.

The third round featured more clinching. Koch got a takedown along the fence but was too tired to turn it into anything. After a bit of a scramble on the mat, Koch took down Stewart again. Koch tried to finish Stewart on the ground with strikes and an attempted choke, but Stewart managed to survive to the final horn. 10-9 Koch, 29-28 Koch.

Official Result: Erik Koch def. Kyle Stewart by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

> Gillian Robertson (6-3, 3-1 UFC) vs. Sarah Frota (9-1, 0-1 UFC)
Women’s Flyweights

The opening round was a showcase for Frota’s defensive jiu-jitsu, as she was taken down by Robertson early but managed to avoid a lot of damage – and even locked on an inverted triangle on Robertson from the bottom – due to her skills on the ground. That said, she spent the majority of the round on her back and Robertson escaped Frota’s inverted triangle and opened up a cut by Frota’s eye with a short elbow strike. Robertson took down Frota near the end of the round, but the horn sounded before she was able to do much damage. Robertson 10-9.

Robertson took Frota down to open the second round and managed to keep leaning forward, avoiding Frota’s first round tendency to grab her torso with her legs to escape dangerous situations. Instead, Robertson kept leaning forward, battered Frota with more elbow strikes and eventually referee Marc Goddard had to jump in to stop things.

Official Result: Gillian Robertson def. Sarah Frota by technical knockout (elbows) at 4:13 of the second round

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> Alexandre Pantoja (#3, 21-3, 5-1 UFC) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (#4, 15-1, 4-1 UFC)
Flyweights

Figueiredo controlled the middle of the cage early. He ducked under a Pantoja punch and took him down but Pantoja defended well and got back up to his feet. Figueiredo hit a couple nice punches and was fast enough to get out of the pocket before Pantoja could counter. Figueiredo got the better of a couple striking exchanges, but Pantoja ducked under a strike and got control of Figueiredo’s back but Figueiredo managed to escape. Energetic first round with both fighters looking good, but Figueiredo got the better of the striking exchanges. 10-9 Figueiredo.

The second round was punctuated by a series of scrambly striking exchanges. While his speed allowed him to escape counter-strikes in the first round, Figueiredo got tagged quite a few times as Pantoja adjusted. He knocked down Figueiredo when he was shooting in for a strike, though Figueiredo popped back up. Pantoja managed a takedown, but Figueiredo battled back to his feet. Figueiredo dropped Pantoja with a right hand late in the round, then tried to finish him with strikes but Pantoja was saved by the horn. 10-9 Figueiredo, 20-18 Figueiredo.

Figueiredo got the better of the striking exchanges early, including a jab that caught Pantoja flush and opened up a cut by his eye and an uppercut that dazed him. Figueiredo took down Pantoja twice, though neither led to any damage. Pantoja tried to close the gap with Figueiredo as the round wore on, but seemed too tired to really make anything of his attempts. Both fighters exchanged strikes before the end of the round. 10-9 Figueiredo, 30-27 Figueiredo.

Offical Result: Deiveson Figueiredo def. Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Gavin Tucker (10-1, 1-1 UFC) vs. SeungWoo Choi (7-2, 0-1 UFC)
Featherweights

After a tentative early striking exchange, Tucker took Choi down, stacked him up and then grabbed control of his back. He battled for position, but couldn’t translate back control into anything damaging. Both men toppled over off a leg trip, with Choi gaining control of Tucker’s neck but Tucker managing to escape. Neither man took control of the striking exchanges. 10-9 Tucker.

Tucker got an early takedown off a striking exchange and gained back control. Choi strambled to his feet but Tucker pressed him against the cage. Choi got free, though. The two had a brief striking exchanging, ending when a Choi spinning backfist missed and Tucker took him down. Tucker was doing some damage with short strikes, but was docked a point by referee Marc Goddard for a knee to the head of a downed opponent (Choi). Tucker continued to get the better of the striking exchanges for the rest of the round. 9-9 Tucker, 19-18 Tucker.

Tucker and Choi battled for position along the cage early in the third. Tucker tended to get the better of these exchanges. Choi got a takedown, but Tucker managed to get back to his feet fairly quickly. Tucker took control of Choi’s back and locked on a rear naked choke, switching hands midway through, for the submission victory. (Because of Choi’s position, Goddard had to keep switching sides to see if he was conscious or not.)

Official Result: Gavin Tucker def. Seungwoo Choi via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:17 of the third round

> Hakeem Dawodu (9-1-1, 2-1 UFC) vs. Yoshinori Horie (8-1, 0-0 UFC)
Featherweights

Dawodu landed a few kicks to the body and legs of Horie, but they didn’t appear to do a ton of damage. Twice during the first round, Horie went for a takedown as Dawodu was swinging for a strike. Both times, Horie dropped an off-balance Dawodu. But also both times, Dawodu popped back to his feet. Late in the round, Horie took Dawodu down with a double leg, but both men popped back to their feet and Dawodu landed a couple punches. Horie got the better of the striking exchanges in the round, particularly using Dawodu’s posture to put him on the mat. 10-9 Horie.

Horie spent the first chunk of the second round circling Dawodu and trying to be elusive with his footwork. Dawodu seemed to adjust and closed the distance several times, opting for short-range strikes after losing the medium-range battle in the opening round. Dawodu got the better of the striking exchanges and stuffed a takedown attempt late in the round. Horie spent much of the round backing up, with Dawodu stalking him and dictating the offense. 10-9 Dawodu, 19-19.

Horie was more aggressive to open the third round. During an exchange, Dawodu blocked a kick and landed a couple knees to Horie’s body in the clinch. After narrowly missing on a head kick, Dawodu swarmed Horie on the fence with strikes. Horie escaped, but Dawodu grabbed control of him on the other side of the Octagon and continued his assault with punches and kicks. While Horie kept escaping, Dawodu kept swarming him along the fence with strikes. He dropped Horie with a headkick and referee Kyle Cardinal called off the fight before Dawodu could do any additional damage.

Official Result: Hakeem Dawodu def. Yoshinori Horie via technical knockout (headkick) at 4:09 of the third round

> Alexis Davis (#7, 19-9, 6-4 UFC) vs. Viviane Araujo (#15 WBW, 7-1, 1-0 UFC)
Women’s Flyweights

Araujo stuffed a Davis takedown attempt early in the round. She got the better of the early striking exchangs, including catching a Davis kick and landing a nice strike afterwards. Araujo took down Davis but wouldn’t dive into her guard, so Yves Lavigne stood them up. The pace slowed down later in round, with the striking exchanges from both sides more strategic than frenzied. 10-9 Araujo.

The strategic nature of the striking continued in the second round, with each fighter trying to land big shots rather than a lot of shots. Araujo got slighter better and cleaner strikes in, visibly reddening Davis’ face during the round. Midway through the round Araujo took Davis down, but Davis wriggled free and ended up in Araujo’s guard. In the scramble on the mat, it appeared that Davis’ nose was blooded. Davis connected with several body shots from inside Araujo’s guard, but also managed to sneak in some nice elbows from the top before the round was up. 10-9 Davis, 19-19.

The striking exchanges continued in the third round, with Araujo connecting with some clean shots to Davis’ face. Davis landed a few good body-kick, spinning elbow combos. Araujo began to gain momentum with some striking combos, making Davis’ nose leak once again. Davis went for another takedown but Araujo ended up on top. As in the first round, Davis tried to bait her into her guard but Araujo didn’t bite and Lavigne stood them up. Araujo connected on some strikes so Davis pressed her against the fence to relieve the pressure. Araujo 10-9, Araujo 29-28.

Official Result: Viviane Araujo def. Alexis Davis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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> Marc-Andre Barriault (11-2, 0-1 UFC) vs. Krzysztof Jotko (20-4, 7-4 UFC)
Middleweights

The opening round featured a lot of clinching along the fence, with the two fighters alternating who was pressing the other against the cage. The striking exchanges were pretty even, though Barriault used them to back Jotko into the fence. Jotko reversed a takedown and tried his own, but Barriault blocked it. Barriault eventually did toss Jotko to the mat, but wasn’t able to follow up. 10-9 Barriault.

Barriault continued to maintain a territorial advantage in the second round, though Jotko initiated more of the striking exchanges. Neither man got a big advantage on their feeet. Barriault got a takedown along the cage late in the round, but Jotko ended up on top – the round ended before Jotko could take advantage. 10-9 Barriault based on the takedown, but this round was a toss-up. 20-19 Barriault, marginally.

The third round was fairly dull. There was a lot of circling and some sloppy striking exchanges. There were occasional clashes against the fence and flurries of strikes. There was more circling. 10-9 Jotko based on slightly better striking, but another toss-up round. 29-28 Barriault, but 29-28 Jotko wouldn’t be shocking. The crowd didn’t enjoy this fight.

Official Result: Krzysztof Jotko def. Marc-Andre Barriault by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

> Olivier Aubin-Mercier (11-4, 7-4 UFC) vs. Arman Tsarukyan (13-2, 0-1 UFC)
Lightweights

For the second straight bout, there were three rounds featuring a lot of clinching and some tentative striking. The opening round saw Tsarukyan and Aubin-Mercier exchange attempted takedowns but not really execute particularly well. Tsarukyan had slightly more control of the proceedings and did more damage. 10-9 Tsarukyan.

The second round saw Aubin-Mercier take advantage of some Tsarukyan miscues and press a little bit, but his primarily advantage was delivering a bit more damage via striking. 10-9 Aubin-Mercier. 19-19.

The third round saw neither fighter really press the pace or assert themselves offensively. Tsarukyan had more control of their striking exchanges and had Aubin-Mercier backing up quit a bit. 10-9 Tsarukyan, 29-28 Tsarukyan overall.

Official Result: Arman Tsarukyan def. Olivier Aubin-Mercier by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Geoff Neal (11-2, 3-0 UFC) vs. Niko Price (13-2 1 NC, 5-2 1 NC UFC)
Welterweights

The early moments featured both fighters trying to get a feel for their opponent. Neal got a takedown. Price scrambled to his feet, but Neal stayed on him. Price connected with some strikes. Neal connected with a stiff punch after hesitating on an approach (and throwing Price’s timing off). A striking exchange saw Price throw a pair of high kicks, then drop Neal with a left hand. He swarmed Neal but Neal defended well, survived, and scrambled back to his feet. Neal took Price down late and got his back, but didn’t have enough time left on the clock to attempt a finish. 10-9 Price.

The early second round featured a flurry of stirkes. Price kicked Neal in the leg, leading to a wild back-and-forth exchange. After a scramble, Price attempted a guillotine choke but couldn’t lock it on, leaving Neal in Price’s guard. Neal worked for position, worked some strikes in to wear Price’s defenses down, then unleashed a flurry of strikes that led referee Dan Miragliatta to stop the bout.

Official Result: Geoff Neal def. Niko Price via technical knockout (strikes) at 2:39 of the second round

> Cris Cyborg (20-2 1 NC, 5-1 UFC) vs. Felicia Spencer (7-0, 1-0 UFC)
Women’s Featherweights

Cyborg looked scary early. Spencer tried for a takedown, got stopped and punched in the face. They had a few flurries of strikes early on, and Spencer busted Cyborg’s nose up with an elbow. Cyborg got the better of the early exchanges and Spencer presser her into the cage. Cyborg eventually wriggled free and they exchanged more strikes. Cyborg dropped her with a leg kick, but Spencer popped back up. Cyborg threw some punches along the fence, but Spencer circled away. Cyborg got the better of a striking exchange along fence, but Spencer pressed her into the cage again. 10-9 Cyborg, as she got the better of their striking exchanges.

Spencer pressed Cyborg against the cage. They battled for position and Cyborg got the upper hand after tripping her along the cage. Spencer defended well from the bottom, trapping Cyborg’s arm between her legs and eventually getting back to her feet. Back on their feet, Cyborg caught a Spencer kick but couldn’t turn it into any offense. They traded on their feet, with Cyborg getting the better of it. Cyborg landed a clean Superman punch, but it didn’t seem to faze Spencer. Cyborg continued to get the better of the striking exchanges. 10-9 Cyborg, 20-18 Cyborg.

Spencer missed a Superman punch and they had a brief exchange of strikes. Spencer tried to drive Cyborg into the fence, but ate a couple knees to the face on her way in. Spencer went for a takedown, Cyborg blocked it, and so Spencer just drove her back into the fence. They fought for control along the fence, with Cyborg getting the upper hand and landing some strikes that hurt Spencer a bit. Cyborg continued to get the better of their striking exchanges in the middle of the cage. Spencer ate a lot of shots in this fight, but aside from a brief moment along the fence in the third round she was never really ever in trouble. 10-9 Cyborg, 30-27 Cyborg.

Official Decision: Cris Cyborg def. Felicia Spencer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Max Holloway (C, 20-4, 16-4 UFC) vs. Frankie Edgar (#4, 23-6-1, 17-6-1 UFC)
UFC Featherweight Championship

There was a feeling-out process early. Edgar was initating more striking and trying to maintain control of the center of the Octagon. Holloway caught Edgar with a punch on an attempted takedown, but it didn’t seem to phase Edgar. Edgar was more effective at rattling off striking combinations. Edgar initiated more striking exchanges and used leg kicks well, but Holloway was more effective at counter-punching. Very close round. 10-9 Edgar, based on territorial control and movement.

The striking exchanges in the second round were much more structured than in the opening round. Edgar continued to initiate, but Holloway seemed more patient and more able to feint and counter-punch than early on. He defended an Edgar takedown attempt early in the round and wriggled free of an Edgar attempt to clinch. Holloway caught Edgar with a shot that sent him stumbling before the end of the round. 10-9 Holloway. 19-19.

An Edgar takedown attempt was blocked early. Holloway continued to use his reach and size to assert his control. Edgar initated more exchanges, but Holloway was very effective at using his jab to keep Edgar circling. Edgar went for a single leg takedown but Holloway blocked the attempt. Holloway caught Edgar with an uppercut. Edgar tried for a takedown, but Holloway shrugged it off and tried for a couple more punches. Edgar avoided the punches and managed to take down an off-balance Holloway. Edgar jockeyed for position on top, but Holloway managed tog et to his feet. Holloway caught Edgar with a knee before the end of the round. 10-9 Holloway. 29-28 Holloway.

Holloway initiated more exchanges beginning with the fourth round. Edgar tried another single leg takedown but Holloway shrugged him off. Edgar was bleeding from the nose after the two traded punches midway through the round. Late in the round Holoway gained some momentum after getting the better of a striking exchange and blocking an Edgar takedown attempt, but Edgar slowed things down by pressing Holloway into the cage. Holloway hit Edgar in the mid-section with a spinning back-kick before the round ended. 10-9 Holloway. 39-37 Holloway

Edgar pressed early, initating several exchanges and throwing a mixture of punches and head-kicks, though Holloway managed to counter. Edgar attempted a takedown and pressed Holloway against the cage, but Holloway wriggled free. Edgar kept pressing, but Holloway ably used his size advantage to defend. Holloway almost got control of Edgar’s neck, but Edgar scrambled to his feet. Holloway connected with a couple nice punching combinations, particularly a couple jabs that landed flush on Edgar’s face. Edgar kept pressing, but couldn’t connect with anything substantial. 10-9 Edgar based on urgency and control of the round. But 48-47 Holloway overall.

Official Result: Max Holloway def. Frankie Edgar via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 48-47) to retain UFC World Featherweight Championship