The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed the matchup to ESPN on Tuesday. UFC 218 takes place at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit and also features a heavyweight tilt pitting Francis Ngannou against Alistair Overeem. The evening’s main card airs on pay-per-view.
The 25-year-old Holloway captured the interim 145-pound belt with a third-round stoppage of Anthony Pettis at UFC 206 and then became the undisputed featherweight champion with a technical knockout of Jose Aldo at UFC 212 on June 3. “Blessed” has won 11 straight contests in the Octagon, with other notable wins against the likes of Ricardo Lamas, Jeremy Stephens, Cub Swanson and Charles Oliveira.
A former lightweight titlist, Edgar will get his third opportunity to capture championship gold at 145 pounds. Thus far, “The Answer” has dropped a pair of five-round decisions to Aldo in featherweight title bouts. After his most recent loss to the Brazilian for the interim strap at UFC 200, Edgar bounced back to post consecutive triumphs against Jeremy Stephens and Yair Rodriguez.