Featherweight champion Max Holloway wasn’t much more than a kid when he made his UFC debut in 2012. Just 20 years old, tall, lanky, and underweight, he looked like a boy in a man’s world. But despite submitting to Dustin Poirier in the first round that night, Holloway—who is facing Frankie Edgar in the main event of UFC 240 on Saturday in a card you can live stream on ESPN+—showed glimpses of his future greatness and of the new age of mixed martial artists he was heralding.
Unlike many of the athletes on the UFC roster at the time who came into MMA as specialists and then expanded their knowledge, Holloway wasn’t a college wrestler who learned how to strike or a kickboxer who picked up Brazilian jiu-jitsu out of self-preservation. He represented something new: a generation that started training after fighters had figured out how to blend all the combat traditions of the world together, during that golden age when no-holds-barred fighting had evolved into mixed martial arts and what had been little more than a carnival sideshow became a sport.
Holloway and his contemporaries embodied the full realization of a whole new art form. And within a few years of his UFC debut, Holloway (20-4) was one of its greatest practitioners, a rough sketch who had grown into an artist before our very eyes.
Holloway’s challenger this Saturday in Edmonton, Edgar (23-6-1), represents the age of MMA that preceded Holloway’s. He’s a college wrestler who had to grow into a mixed martial artist, a man who fought his first professional fight when Holloway was still in middle school. That Edgar is still competing at 37 years old and after 15 years as a professional is remarkable. That he’s still a contender for a UFC belt is some kind of miracle. Yet here he is: the former lightweight champion finally getting his shot at the best of the new band that’s trying to take the sport away from him.
Holloway might be 10 years younger and five inches taller and he may fight with all the brazenness of youth. He may be the undisputed featherweight champion of the world and he may represent the future of mixed martial arts. But Edgar has the kind of rough knowledge that only comes with experience and all the stubbornness of age that has no intention of ceding the future to anyone.
Here’s everything you need to know to live stream Holloway vs. Edgar.
UFC 240: Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar
- When: Saturday, July 27 at 10pm ET
- Where: Rogers Place in Edmonton, Canada
- Streaming: ESPN+
TRY ESPN+
UFC 240: How to watch Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar
Thanks to a huge seven-year deal, ESPN+ is now the only way to watch UFC 240 (and all subsequent UFC PPVs). Aside from ESPN+ becoming your one-stop shop for UFC, the OTT service also offers the UFC PPVs for $5 less than you’re used to paying. Here’s how it breaks down:
UFC 240 cost:
In other words, you can buy UFC 240 for just $59.99, but if you spend $20 more, you’ll also get one year of ESPN+ for free. That’s a $50 value, and if you’re a big-time UFC fan, that’s a great deal. Along with plenty of exclusive live events (see below), you can also watch 20 UFC Fight Night events every year with ESPN+.
If you don’t currently subscribe to ESPN+, you can purchase UFC 240 from your desktop or smartphone here. If you already subscribe, you can easily buy the PPV from the ESPN app by simply clicking on the event in the ESPN+ tab.
One thing to remember: Only the UFC 240 main event card will be featured on ESPN+, and you will have to pay the $59.99 PPV fee (full schedule and watch guide below):
- Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar
- Cris Cyborg vs. Felicia Spencer
- Geoff Neal vs. Niko Price
- Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Arman Tsarukyan
- Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Krzysztof Jotko
What is ESPN+?
Devices: Chromecast, Amazon Fire Stick and Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku players and TV, Oculus Go, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Samsung smart TVs, and iOS and Android devices
ESPN+ is ESPN’s subscription service. It works as an extension of the ESPN app you probably already have on your mobile device. Ever notice the live events, articles, or series tagged with a gold “E+” in the corner of the app? Those are the ones locked behind the ESPN+ paywall. It’s literally thousands of events per year, including the aforementioned 20 UFC Fight Nights and a bunch of exclusive Top Rank boxing events. You’ll also get all of the best 30 for 30 episodes, daily MLB action, every out-of-market MLS game, international soccer, and more college sports than you’ll know what to do with.
ESPN+ is also starting to ramp up its original series as well. It’s best known for Kobe Bryant’s Detail, but there are three shows that will be of interest to MMA fans: UFC Destined, Ariel & the Bad Guy, and Dana White’s Contender Series. Your ESPN+ subscription also gives you fewer ads across the ESPN network.
TL;DR: It’s a great deal and essential for sports fans of all stripes.
TRY ESPN+
UFC 240 live stream: ESPN prelims
As a reminder: Your ESPN+ subscription will not allow you to watch the ESPN prelims for free. You’ll still need a cable or live TV subscription to watch it on the network beginning at 9pm ET. Here are the matches you’ll be able to watch on ESPN:
- Alexis Davis vs. Viviane Araujo
- Hakeem Dawodu vs. Yoshinori Horie
- Gavin Tucker vs. Seungwoo Choi
- Alexandre Pantoja vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
If you don’t already have a way to watch ESPN online, every major live TV streaming service carries the channel, and all of them offer at least a one-week free trial before you have to start paying. And once you download the ESPN app and punch in your credentials, you can watch the prelims and the main event from one convenient location.
1) Sling TV
- Cost: $25-$40 per month (40% off first month)
- Devices: Amazon Fire TVs, Android Fire Stick, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Xbox One, Google Chromecast, and iOS and Android devices
- Sling TV channels
- Cost: $44.95 per month (after a free 7-day trial)
- Devices: Roku, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire Stick and Fire TV, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, and iOS and Android devices
3) YouTube TV
- Cost: $49.99 per month (after a free 7-day trial)
- Devices: Google Chromecast, Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Xbox One, iOS and Android devices
- YouTube TV channels
- Cost: $44.99-$79.99 per month (after a free 7-day trial)
- Devices: PlayStation 3 and 4, Roku, Amazon Fire, Google Chromecast, Kodi, iOS and Android devices
- PlayStation Vue channels
UFC 240 live stream: Fight Pass early prelims
For the die-hards out there, UFC’s Fight Pass carries the early prelims, which start at 6:30pm ET. Here’s the full Fight Pass lineup:
- Gillian Robertson vs. Sarah Frota
- Erik Koch vs. Kyle Stewart
- Tanner Boser vs. Giacomo Lemos
UFC Fight Pass launched in 2014. The service hosts the undercard bouts of every UFC PPV, and it’s also where you’ll find the smaller, more local UFC events that aren’t picked up by ESPN. The app is incredibly versatile. You can download it via Apple TV, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, Samsung smart TVs, LG smart TVs, and iOS and Android devices.
UFC 240 schedule
All times ET.
UFC 240 PPV Main Card | 10pm on ESPN+
- Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar
- Cris Cyborg vs. Felicia Spencer
- Geoff Neal vs. Niko Price
- Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Arman Tsarukyan
- Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Krzysztof Jotko
UFC 240 Preliminary Card | 8pm on ESPN
- Alexis Davis vs. Viviane Araujo
- Hakeem Dawodu vs. Yoshinori Horie
- Gavin Tucker vs. Seungwoo Choi
- Alexandre Pantoja vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
UFC 240 Early Prelims | 6:30pm on UFC Fight Pass
- Gillian Robertson vs. Sarah Frota
- Erik Koch vs. Kyle Stewart
- Tanner Boser vs. Giacomo Lemos
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