Featherweight title bout to headline UFC 240 in Edmonton

Max (Blessed) Holloway will put his UFC featherweight title on the line against former lightweight title-holder Frankie (The Answer) Edgar at UFC 240 in Edmonton on July 27.

David Shaw, UFC senior vice-president of international and content, confirmed the Rogers Place matchup, first reported by ESPN.

There have been two past attempts to match Edgar and Holloway, in December 2017 at UFC 218 (Edgar was injured) and March 2018 at UFC 222 (Holloway was injured).

"It's one of those fights people have wanted to see for a long time and now we've got the chance to actually pull it together," Shaw said in an interview. "[It's]nice that we're going to be able to host that event and host Max in Canada given he's pretty much a honorary Canadian at this point after his three fights in Canada and love for the Raptors.

"So it's an exciting fight to bring to Edmonton."

• Edmonton fighter back on his feet after battle with rare brain disease

Edgar agreed to fight Brian Ortega instead at UFC 222 and was knocked out in the first round, losing his title shot in the process. It went to Ortega, who lost a bloody five-round decision to Holloway at UFC 231 in Toronto last December.

Australian Alexander (The Great) Volkanovski became the No. 1 contender at 145 pounds after winning a decision over former champion Jose Aldo in Brazil on the weekend. With UFC 243 slated for Sydney, Australia, in early October, the UFC will likely look to showcase Volkanovski there.

Volkanovski (20-1-0) has won all seven UFC fights and has not lost since May 2013.

Holloway (20-4-0) is coming off an April loss to Dustin (The Diamond) Poirier for the interim lightweight title. That snapped a 13-fight win streak that dated back to August 2103 when the 145-pounder from Hawaii was beaten by Conor McGregor.

• Max Holloway defeats Brian Ortega at UFC 231 in Toronto
• 'We're definitely on the right path': City lifts ban on combative sports

The 27-year-old Holloway won the UFC interim featherweight title at UFC 206 in Toronto in December 2016, beating Anthony (Showtime) Pettis. He stopped Charles Oliveira in Saskatoon in August 2015.

Edgar (22-6-1) returned to action in April, earning a unanimous decision over Cub Swanson. The 37-year-old is currently ranked fourth among 145-pound contenders behind Volkanovski, Ortega and Aldo.

Holloway has already beaten Aldo twice.

The July card will be the UFC's second in Edmonton. The city hosted UFC 215 in September 2017 with Amanda Nunes successfully defending her bantamweight title against Valentina Shevchenko after a flyweight championship bout between Demetrious (Mighty Mouse) Johnson and Ray Borg was called off due a Borg injury.

The Rogers Place card drew an announced sellout crowd of 16,232.