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Max Holloway says he will defend his title in Detroit despite Frankie Edgar pulling out with an injury.
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Max Holloway won’t be defending his UFC featherweight title against Frankie Edgar at UFC 218 next month.
That doesn’t mean the Waianae native won’t be fighting.
An injury forced Edgar, a former UFC lightweight champion, to pull out of the title fight scheduled for Dec. 2 at Little Caesars Arena. The injury happened to his face in training according to a UFC report.
Both fighters acknowledged the cancellation on social media. Edgar wrote on Instagram, “Hit with a minor setback but should be back to full contact in six weeks or so. Thanks to the @ufc for always having my back. Max I’ll see you down the road. #Believe”
Edgar (21-5-1, 16-5-1 UFC) was going to make his third attempt at winning the 145-pound title after losing twice to Jose Aldo.
Holloway (18-3, 14-3) knocked out Aldo in the third round to unify the UFC featherweight title in June after winning the interim title last December.
He wrote on Twitter, “injuries are part of this fight game. Frankie’s the man. Wish him a speedy recovery.”
Holloway went on to proclaim he’s fighting in Detroit anyway, although the UFC hasn’t commented on a potential replacement. Aldo, ranked as the No. 1 contender at 145 pounds, ahead of Edgar, is scheduled to fight No. 3 Ricardo Lamas on Dec. 16. No. 4 Cub Swanson has a fight scheduled against No. 6 Brian Ortega on Dec. 9.
No. 5 Chan Sung Jung, who hasn’t fought since a win in February, is the highest ranked featherweight without a fight currently lined up.
Holloway’s current 11-fight winning streak is the second-longest among active fighters behind the 13 straight won by both middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre and flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson.
