UFC 240: Holloway vs. Edgar matches to make for winners

Fights matchmakers Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby should make for the UFC 240 main card winners.

UFC 240: Holloway vs. Edgar went down at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and featured only one stoppage during the pay-per-view portion of the card. Four fights went the distance, including the main event, but there was some exciting action inside the Octagon.  Here are the fights that the UFC 240 main card winners should be booked in next.

Max Holloway

Next opponent: Alex Volkanovski

Max Holloway defended his featherweight title against future UFC hall of famer Frankie Edgar, winning a hard fought five round unanimous decision. “Blessed,” who is 27-years-old, is now the youngest fighter in UFC history to win 17 times in the Octagon.

The next fight for the UFC featherweight champion needs to be #1 ranked Alex Volkanovski. “The great” is 20-1 and has never lost in the UFC. The New South Wales native weighed in as a backup for the UFC 240 main event in the event Holloway or Edgar could not compete. Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes, among others, have all fallen to Volkanovski who is the clear number one contender for the 145-pound title.

Cris “Cyborg” Justino

Next opponent: Amanda Nunes (Featherweight)

The co-main event at UFC 240 saw Cris “Cyborg” Justino win a unanimous decision over tough Canadian Felicia Spencer. Justino used her patented aggressive striking abilities to pummel Spencer, handing her the first loss of her professional career.

This fight was the last on Justino’s contract, so assuming she stays with the UFC, a rematch with women’s featherweight champion Amanda Nunes is the only fight to make. Nunes stopped Justino in just 51 seconds at UFC 232, her first loss since May 2005. Nunes has stated she wants to defend her 145-pound belt next and Justino has been asking for the rematch, despite conflicting news from UFC President Dana White. Nunes is the only ranked featherweight fighter on the UFC’s official website.

Geoff Neal

Next opponent:: Demian Maia

Geoff Neal stopped Niko Price with punches at 2:39 of the second round in what was a back-and-forth fight with wild striking exchanges and quick scrambles when the fight hit the ground. Neal proved he is ready for a ranked opponent with the win over a tough veteran like Price and a fight with #12 ranked welterweight Demian Maia would be a good test for both fighters.

Maia is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist that is on a two-fight win streak and should compete one more time before the end of 2019. Neal showed he has a capable ground game, but hitting the mat with Maia, who is widely considered the best MMA grappler of all time, would be a whole new world for “handz of steel.” Neal will likely be ranked after UFC 240 but if he were to be victorious in a fight with Maia it could propel him into top 10 contention.

Arman Tsarukyan

Next opponent: Drew Dober

Arman Tsarukyan picked up the win over Olivier Aubin-Mercier via unanimous decision after holding top position for the majority of the third round. Tsarukyan showed an impressive control game throughout the bout and was relentless in trying to get the fight to the ground.

A fight with Drew Dober would make for an interesting match-up. Dober is known for his aggressive striking game but has two submission losses inside the Octagon. One of those losses was to Aubin-Mercer, so a fight with Tsarukyan could be redemption. A win for either athlete could be rewarded by a fight with a ranked opponent.

Krzysztof Jotko

Next opponent: Brad Tavares

Krzysztof Jotko won a close split decision over Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 240, his second straight UFC win. The fight was fairly uneventful in terms of damage and significant strikes but featured multiple big takedowns.

A rematch with Brad Tavares, the No. 12 ranked middleweight in the UFC rankings, would make sense for Jotko. Tavares stopped Jotko with punches in April 2018 but lost his next fight to interim-middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Jotko has two decision victories since his loss to Tavares and is ready to break into ranked competition. Jotko earned the rematch with two straight victories and Tavares is looking to avoid losing two straight for the second time in his career.

UFC 240 takes place on Saturday, July 27, 2019, live from Rogers Place in Edmonton, Canada. Follow along with FanSided MMA for all your live results and highlights