The injury that kept Max Holloway from Saturday night’s UFC 222 may also have made his next title defense quite a bit tougher.
Undefeated Brian Ortega will likely challenge Holloway for the UFC featherweight title after taking his spot against No. 2-ranked Frankie Edgar and knocking out the former UFC lightweight champion in the co-main event of Saturday night’s pay-per-view in Las Vegas.
Ortega (14-0) entered the fight on short notice as the underdog against Edgar, who had never been stopped in 22 UFC appearances.
The 27-year-old Ortega, ranked No. 3 at 145 pounds, stunned Edgar with a standing elbow and then crippled him with a vicious uppercut to score a stunning win at 4 minutes, 44 seconds in the first round.
Ortega has finished all six of his UFC fights by either knockout or submission.
“The kid is super talented, has an incredible personality, and the fact that we now have a title fight with him and Holloway … I’m excited about this,” UFC president Dana White said at the post-fight news conference.
Waianae’s Holloway was scheduled to fight Edgar in the main event, but was forced to withdraw a month out with an ankle injury.
After the fight, Holloway went to Twitter and suggested he’d be ready for UFC 226 on July 7 in Las Vegas as part of international fight week.
The UFC’s yearly pay-per-view around the Fourth of July is generally booked as one of its best cards with multiple title fights.
The main event has already been set with heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic defending his belt against light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.
“I just saw (Holloway). He came on the Ultimate Fighter as one of the coaches,” White said. “He looks good. He’s walking good and we’ve got to see what his doctor says and when he’s cleared and ready to fight and we’ll make that fight immediately.”
The possibility of holding it at 226 suggests an event in Hawaii is unlikely this summer.
According to a source involved in negotiations, the likelihood of a UFC card in Hawaii will come down to whether the Hawaii Tourism Authority and the UFC can agree on financial terms to bring the largest mixed martial arts organization in the world to the islands.
Although Ortega is now the clear-cut choice to challenge for the belt after his performance against Edgar, he wouldn’t let his hopes get too high for a title shot just yet.
“I don’t want to get too excited and then (have a title fight) shut down and then I be heartbroken,” Ortega said. “In my opinion I feel like that should be the next fight.”
