On Monday, MMA Junkie reported that UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway was set to defend his title against former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 222 in March. The official announcement from the UFC came later in the day confirming MMA Junkie’s report.
From the UFC:
After a pair of finishes over Brazilian icon Jose Aldo that earned him recognition by several outlets as the 2017 Fighter of the Year, undisputed UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway will risk his title against one of the sport’s most respected veterans, Frankie Edgar, in the main event of UFC 222 on Mar. 3 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Tickets for UFC 222, which airs live on Pay-Per-View, go on sale on Jan. 19.
A former UFC lightweight champion, New Jersey’s Edgar will attempt to become just the fourth fighter to win UFC titles in two weight classes when he squares off with the surging Holloway, who has won 12 straight on his way to the top of the weight class. Included in Holloway’s run of excellence are wins over Anthony Pettis, Ricardo Lamas, Jeremy Stephens and Cub Swanson, but the victories over Aldo put him alone atop the 145-pound weight class. Aiming to take “Blessed” out of that top spot is the 36-year-old Edgar, owner of the 155-pound crown from 2010-2012, and a featherweight standout since 2013 who has won seven of nine bouts in his new division, beating the likes of BJ Penn, Swanson, Stephens, Urijah Faber, Chad Mendes and Yair Rodriguez.
With the UFC’s announcement, Holloway and Edgar posted their matchup on social media captioning where their heads are at for the bout.
Holloway will not be getting his wish of fighting in his home state of Hawaii just yet but will be heading to Las Vegas, which is often referred to as the ninth island by many of the Hawaii locals who visit often or move there.
Holloway simply captioned his post, “ninth island, what’s up!”
ninth island, what’s up! pic.twitter.com/Gnvxa3NPrB
— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) January 9, 2018
Edgar reflected on his UFC 218 fallout after having to pull out due to injury and stated, “There’s no point in trying to rush fate. The best things in life are worth the wait! #ForTheChip @ufc 222.”
Who are you picking to win this UFC featherweight title fight? Give us your predictions in the comment section!
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/8/2018.