The UFC returns to Canada this weekend live the Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta with a pay-per-view card. This article is a UFC 240 main card preview, where we will take a closer look at the five bouts on the main card. In the main event, current featherweight champion Max Holloway returns to 145 pounds, when he faces a former lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar. In the co-feature, Cris “Cyborg” Justino battles undefeated Canadian Felicia Spencer in a featherweight contest.
UFC 240 Main Card Preview:
Krzysztof Jotko vs. Marc-Andre Barrault:
In the UFC 240 main card opener, Poland’s Krzysztof Jotko faces Canada’s Marc-Andre Barriault in a middleweight contest. Jotko (20-4) most recently bounced back with his first victory since 2016, as he dominated Alen Amedovski to win via unanimous decision in April. Before that victory, Jotko had lost three in a row. Although, that was against David Branch, Uriah Hall, and Brad Tavares. Despite losing three out his last four, the 29-year-old has a winning UFC record of seven wins and four losses.
On the other hand, Barriault (11-2) is a former TKO two-weight champion at middleweight and light heavyweight. “Power Bar” made his UFC debut back in May, where he lost a back-and-forth decision to Andrew Sanchez in Canada. Now, Barriault looks to redeem himself on home soil and hopes to earn his first UFC win at home.
Will Jotko score back-to-back wins to regain momentum as a middleweight contender or will Barriault score his first UFC win on home soil?
Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Arman Tsarukyan:
In the second bout on the UFC 240 main card, Olivier Aubin-Mercier faces Arman Tsarukyan at 155-pounds. Aubin-Mercier (11-4) is coming off consecutive decision losses to Gilbert Burns and Alexander Hernandez. The back-to-back losses snapped a four-fight winning streak for the 30-year-old. In his 11 professional victories, Aubin-Mercier has eight wins via submission. All but one of his submission wins have ended by a rear-naked choke. The Tristar representative has a winning UFC record of seven wins and four losses.
Despite losing his UFC debut, the 22-year-old Tsarukyan (13-2) impressed heavily when he proved he could hang with Islam Makhachev on short notice. He did lose on the scorecards but did enough to earn another fight with a UFC veteran. The Armenian-born spends time training at Tiger Muay Thai. Tsarukyan has finished ten of his 13 victories, five via (T)KO and five via submission.
Will Aubin-Mercier receive a much-needed UFC victory or will Tsarukyan go into away soil and impressive once again to earn his first UFC win?
Geoff Neal vs. Niko Price
Quite possibly a fight that could steal the show on the UFC 240 main card, Geoff Neal collides with Niko Price in a potential Fight of the Night candidate at 170-pounds. Neal (11-2) fights out of Fortis MMA in Austin, Texas, which is a hotbed for MMA talent in recent times. Neal punched his ticket into the UFC on Dana White’s Contender Series where he knocked out Chase Waldon inside two minutes. Since joining the UFC roster, Neal is a perfect 3-0. Most recently, Neal soundly defeated Belal Muhammad back in January.
Meanwhile, Price (13-2-0, 1 No Contest) is coming off a first-round knockout victory of MMA veteran Tim Means. Price is a finisher, with only one of his 13 wins going to the scorecards. Price has a UFC record of 4-2-0-1, with his only losses coming to Vicente Luque and Abdul Razak Alhassan.
In a crucial matchup for both men, who will advance as the superior contender? One thing for sure, this fight won’t be needing the scorecards.
Cris Cyborg vs. Felicia Spencer:
In a rare women’s featherweight bout, Cris Cyborg returns from a devastating loss to face undefeated former Invicta FC champion, Felicia Spencer. Cyborg most recently lost her 13-year, 20-fight win streak against two-weight champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 232 last December. The fight only lasted 51 seconds, as Nunes smoked Cyborg by dropping his multiple times to earn a highlight-reel KO. Coming into UFC 240, Cyborg (20-1-0, 1 No Contest) is on the last fight of her UFC contract. In a division with a handful of fighters (and UFC president Dana White saying Cyborg doesn’t want to rematch Nunes) – this could be the last we see of Cyborg in the UFC.
On the other hand, Spencer (7-0) is looking to pull off the big upset. The Canadian is undefeated and has finished five of her seven victories – four via submission (all rear-naked chokes). In her UFC debut in May, Spencer needed only three minutes and 24 seconds to steamroll through Megan Anderson to win via rear-naked choke.
This is a striker versus grappler matchup, but the striker is also a BJJ black belt. The striker also has a lot more experience and has a better resume. Will Cyborg return to her winning ways to will Spencer manage to score another upset win?
Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar
In the main event of the evening, featherweight champion Max Holloway faces former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at 145-pounds for all the marbles. Holloway (20-4) drops back down to featherweight after losing at 155-pounds. Back in April, Holloway went to war with a top lightweight contender and current title-challenger Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 236. Although Poirier emerged victorious over five rounds, it was one of the best fights of the year so far. At 145-pounds, Holloway cannot stop winning, as he is on a twelve-fight win streak at featherweight. In his most recent featherweight contest, Holloway overwhelmed previously undefeated contender Brian Ortega to win via TKO back in December. “Blessed” also holds two wins over featherweight king Jose Aldo.
Edgar (23-6-1) is looking to become a featherweight champion for the third time. After two losses to Jose Aldo, Edgar gets another shot at the belt – against the man who defeated Aldo twice. Both men were supposed to fight twice before this, but injuries to both men delayed the date and they fought different opponents. It backfired for Edgar, as he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Brian Ortega at UFC 222. However, after defeating Cub Swanson for a second time a month later, earned Edgar another title shot. At 37-years old, this could be Edgar’s last shot at UFC gold.
Will Holloway prove he is still the man at featherweight or will Edgar turn back the clock – and finally have the answer to become a UFC featherweight champion.
Main Photo
Embed from Getty Images
