Despite a failed one-off at lightweight in April, Max Holloway’s visit to Edmonton on Saturday reconfirmed his standing as the best 145-pound fighter in the world.

Holloway (21-4), whom some have called the best and most accomplished featherweight fighter in UFC history, defended his title in the main event of UFC 240 with a technical and impressive unanimous decision win over former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.

Just three months removed from a five-round decision loss to interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier, Holloway looked no worse for the wear against a game and experienced veteran. Edgar (23-7-1) utilized his quick hands to keep Holloway honest but was unable to take the fight to the ground with any regularity in what became the story of the fight.

“Everybody said I wasn’t going to be able to wrestle with this guy. Everybody said I wasn’t going to stay at his pace,” Holloway said. “I wanted to prove a point and go five rounds with him to let the world know that I’m here to stay and the ‘Blessed Express’ is still on the move, baby. Choo choo!”

Holloway — who took him judges scores of 48-47, 49-46 and 50-45 — stuffed 13 of 14 takedown attempts by Edgar, whose lone successful trip to the canvas did nothing but buy time after Holloway rocked him with punches in Round 3.

“Frankie is a true warrior, give it up for this guy,” Holloway said. “You’re the guy who inspired me to be here.”

Overall, the champion’s command of distance was masterful as he routinely made the smaller Edgar pay for advancing forward by timing with with power shots, including a reliable right uppercut, and bloodied Edgar’s nose midway through.

“I expected everything he brought,” Edgar said. “Max is a stud, man. He represents our sport to the best. He represents this division to the best. He’s the best guy in the world.”

An emotional Edgar, 37, would not commit to a rumored move down to 135 pounds after the fight but did maintain that his career is not over despite coming up short in his third attempt at becoming a two-division champion.

“I thought I did OK. Max is a big guy and I’m giving up some big pounds,” Edgar said. “I’ve got my family here and my kid here and it’s just tough. I don’t know. I need to go back to the drawing board and regroup. I’m not done, I have a lot of fight in me. Max is the best guy in the world and I fought him pretty damn tough.”

The 27-year-old Holloway, a native of Hawaii, made the third defense of the title he won by stopping Jose Aldo in 2017. Holloway extended his unbeaten streak as a featherweight to 14 consecutive bouts, dating back to a 2013 loss to Conor McGregor.

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UFC 240 card/results

Max Holloway (c) def. Frankie Edgar via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 48-47)
Cris Cyborg def. Felicia Spencer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Geoff Neal def. Niko Price via second-round TKO (punches)
Arman Tsarukyan def. Olivier Aubin-Mercier via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Krzysztof Jotko def. Marc-Andre Barriault via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Viviane Araujo def. Alexis Davis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Hakeem Dawodu def. Yoshinori Horie via third-round TKO (head kick)
Gavin Tucker def. Seungwoo Choi via third-round submission (rear-naked choke)
Deiveson Figueiredo def. Alexandre Pantoja via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

UFC 240 updates, highlights

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