On Saturday night, UFC held their pay-per-view “UFC 240.” The event included Max Holloway’s third title fight in eight months, facing Frankie Edgar in a Featherweight Championship bout. Holloway’s last fight was a loss to Dustin Poirier, dropping his Interim Lightweight Championship. Holloway’s last defense of the Featherweight Championship was back in December against Brian Ortega. Despite his Hawaiian background, Holloway claims he has “home court advantage” in this Canadian event. His bout will be the fifth time he’s headlined a Canadian card, tying himself with Georges St-Pierre.
In the co-main event was Cris Cyborg in what some predict will be her farewell fight in the UFC, as the bout was the last on her contract. She faced Canadian Felicia Spencer, an undefeated prospect who is only in her second fight in the UFC after running through Invicta FC. Nine other bouts opened the evening, so let’s start the coverage by breaking down the preliminary bouts.
Bout 1: Kyle Stewart (11-2) vs. Erik Koch (15-6) (Welterweight)
Starting on UFC Fight Pass was the early prelims of the show. Kyle Stewart and Erik Koch battled in the welterweight division. Early on, Koch was coming forward with powerful strikes. They clinched up against the cage for a minute or so. Stewart shot for a takedown but Koch turned it into another clinch against the cage. He tried once more but wasn’t successful as the round was winding down. Stewart was walking down Koch more at the start of the second, landing a hard right hook. They clinched up against the cage again. Koch brought the fight to the ground a few times. They stood up shortly after the first two times, but the third time Koch was very dominant on the ground for a minute or so. Both fighters were quite tired as the round concluded. Stewart had some good knees in clinch at the start of the third round. Koch landed a takedown in the second minute. Koch was on top once again as the round ended. He ended the round strong with strikes and choke attempts. The judges unanimously gave the fight to Erik Koch (30-27, 29-28 & 29-28).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Stewart | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
| Koch | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
Bout 2: Gillian Robertson (6-3) vs. Sarah Frota (9-1) (Flyweight)
In the first flyweight bout of the evening, Gillian Robertson fought Sarah Frota. Robertson was the first of many Canadians to fight on the card. Moments into the bout, Robertson landed a takedown. Frota was in bottom position but was the dominant fighter, putting Robertson in a submission hold at one point. Robertson escaped and landed hard strikes which cut open Frota’s head. Robertson scored another takedown at the start of the second round. Robertson landed enough elbows on the ground in top position that the referee intervened, giving her the win.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Robertson | 10 | |||
| Frota | 9 |
Bout 3: Alexandre Pantoja (21-3) (#3) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (15-1) (#4) (Flyweight)
The ESPN prelims kicked off with a high profile flyweight bout between Alexandre Pantoja and Deiveson Figueiredo. After looking sharp in stand-up for the first minute, Figueiredo landed a takedown. When they stood up, both were swinging hard. Pantoja’s punches came through more in the second round. There was many exchanges where both fighters got their strikes in. Pantoja got a takedown but Figueiredo got up quickly after. They continued to swing for the fences until the round ended. Pantoja got a cut near his left eye during the round. Pantoja’s face was a mess in the third round. The final round was mostly stand-up, with Figueiredo being the fresher fighter. The fight went the distance with the judges giving the win the Deiveson Figueiredo (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Pantoja | 9 | 10 | 9 | 28 |
| Figueiredo | 10 | 9 | 10 | 29 |
Bout 4: Gavin Tucker (10-1) vs. Seung Woo Choi (7-2) (Featherweight)
In the second of six Canadian fighter bouts of the evening, Gavin Tucker fought Seung Woo Choi. Tucker scored a takedown in the second minute of the bout. Tucker stayed on him after he got up. Tucker got on Choi’s back early in the second round. While Tucker had Choi’s back on the ground, he landed a knee to the head of Choi, who was clearly grounded. A point was deducted due to this. He also lost position, as the fight resumed in stand-up. Choi landed a trip in the final round when Tucker had him up against the fence. In the final two minutes, Tucker took Choi’s back and put in a rear naked choke which made Choi tap out. In what could have been a scorecard nightmare for Tucker, the crisis was avoided as he got a stoppage.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Tucker | 10 | 9 | ||
| Woo Choi | 9 | 9 |
Bout 5: Hakeem Dawodu (9-1-1) vs. Yoshinori Horie (8-1) (Featherweight)
In the next bout, Canadian fighter Hakeem Dawodu fought Japanese fighter Yoshinori Horie. Horie was a Pancrase fighter before, with this bout being his debut in the UFC. Horie circled the perimeter throughout the first round. He wasn’t consistently landing, but had strong punches every once in a while. His style of striking was very wild and hard to control while Dawodu was very textbook. The second round was more of the same except Horie wasn’t getting his shots in. So instead, it was Dawodu constantly advancing and periodically landing strikes. In the third round Dawodu started to string together combinations of punches. It was by far his best round yet. In the final minute, Dawodu landed a head kick which ended the bout.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Dawodu | 9 | 10 | ||
| Horie | 10 | 9 |
Bout 6: Alexis Davis (19-9) (#7) vs. Viviane Araujo (7-1) (Flyweight)
Finishing off the prelims was Alexis Davis facing Viviane Araujo. Two real prospects in the flyweight division. The first round had Araujo out-striking Davis. Davis was mostly in top position through the second round. In the third round they stayed in stand-up, where Araujo went back to being dominant. Davis looked quite roughed up by the time the fight ended while Araujo seemed fresh. Viviane Araujo won via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Davis | 9 | 10 | 9 | 28 |
| Araujo | 10 | 9 | 10 | 29 |
Bout 7: Krzysztof Jotko (20-4) vs. Marc-Andre Barriualt (11-2)
The first fight on the PPV portion of the card was Krzysztof Jotko versus Marc-Andre Barriualt. In the first round Jotko had Barriault up against the cage in a clinch for a significant amount of time. Jotko landed good knees in the clinch as well. The second round felt like an inactive and closer round than the first. Both fighters had their moments in the second. The fight went the distance after another slow paced round. With a split decision, Krzysztof Jotko got the victory (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Jotko | 10 | 10 | 9 | 29 |
| Barriault | 9 | 9 | 10 | 28 |
Bout 8: Olivier Aubin-Mercier (11-4) vs. Arman Tsarukyan (13-2) (Lightweight)
In the second last bout that featured a Canadian, Olivier Aubin-Mercier faced Arman Tsarukyan. For most of the first round, Tsarukyan out-wrested Aubin-Mercier. The crowd voiced their displeasure as the first round concluded. The second round was mostly stand-up, with Aubin-Mercier having a good strikes. Tsarukyan had a dominant final round, staying in top position on the ground for most of the round. Arman Tsarukyan got the unanimous decision victory (29-28, 29-28 & 29-29).
My Scorecard:
| My Scorecard | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Aubin-Mercier | 9 | 10 | 9 | 28 |
| Tsarukyan | 10 | 9 | 10 | 29 |
Bout 9: Geoff Neal (11-2) vs. Niko Price (13-2) (Welterweight)
Geoff Neal and Niko Price fought in the next bout. Neal landed a slam takedown early in the round. Later on, Neal was dropped by a left hook and a clash of heads. Neal landed another takedown as the round was winding down. In the second round there was a strong exchange of punches from both fighters. Price took Neal to the ground and tried for a guillotine but wasn’t successful. Neal landed punches and elbows from top position until the referee stepped in.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Neal | 10 | |||
| Price | 9 |
Bout 10: Cris Cyborg (20-2) vs. Felicia Spencer (7-0) (Featherweight)
In the co-main event was Cris Cyborg versus Felicia Spencer. Cyborg swarming Spencer early on with punches. Cyborg was cut open from elbows to the head. The crowd chanting “Let’s go Spencer” in the second round. The second round saw the fight go to the ground, with Cyborg being in top position twice. The second time she landed good shots. They stood back up and continued to strike. Spencer continued to show off her chin. The third round was Cyborg’s best, with a continuation and increased intensity of punches and kicks. While Spencer lost, her toughness was tested, and she certainly passed that test. All three judges gave Cyborg the win (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Cyborg | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Spencer | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
Bout 11: Max Holloway (20-4) vs. Frankie Edgar (23-6-1) (UFC Featherweight Championship)
Finally, the main event of the evening was Max Holloway attempting to defend his UFC Featherweight Championship against Frankie Edgar. The first round was purely stand-up with both fighters having their moments. Edgar had a takedown attempt defended in the second minute of the round. The second round was quite similar. Holloway defended two more takedown attempts. The final moments of the round were good for Holloway, with him landing a spinning back kick to the body. In the final minutes of the third round, Holloway came forward with good combos that seemingly hurt Edgar. While recovering, Edgar landed his first takedown of the fight. Numerous attempts in the third were blocked before. Edgar started to get a bloody nose in the fourth round. After a final close striking round, the fight went the distance. The judges gave the fight to Max Holloway unanimously (50-45, 50-45 & 48-47).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Total |
| Holloway | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 49 |
| Edgar | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 46 |
JackWannan.com 