Frankie Edgar may have temporarily fallen out of the UFC featherweight title race with his knockout loss to Brian Ortega at UFC 222, but that doesn’t mean he’s off the radar of champ Max Holloway.

Edgar (22-6-1 MMA, 16-6-1 UFC) was supposed to challenge Holloway (19-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) for the 145-pound belt at UFC 222 earlier this month, but “Blessed” was forced to withdraw due to an ankle injury. Instead of waiting, though, Edgar accepted a fight with Ortega, and in a stunning turn of events, suffered the first knockout loss of his career.

It was an ugly outcome for “The Answer,” but Holloway said the former UFC lightweight champ shouldn’t be written off quite yet. The Hawaiian feels observers of the sport are too quick to dismiss certain fighters, and just because the older guard of the division such as Edgar and Jose Aldo (26-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) have had bad results, it doesn’t mean they’re worthless.

“Me and Frankie still got unfinished business,” Holloway told MMAjunkie “Everyone is talking about Frankie and Aldo like they’re two dead guys. They say, ‘Too washed up.’ They’re still animals. They’ve been at the top of the heap. They’ve been top-five, top-three in any division they were in, forever. People keep talking about how these guys are old; we’ll see. You can’t speak on it yet. It’s a couple losses. It’s MMA. You get caught.”

The narrative can change in an instant in MMA, and Edgar will attempt to get himself back into title position when he rematches Cub Swanson at UFC Fight Night 128 in April. Holloway, meanwhile, is likely to put his title on the line against Ortega sometime in the summer.

Holloway admits that it is possible Edgar and Aldo have hit their highest moments of success, but he has confidence both men have more to give. Ortega is currently the next challenger, and Holloway said he’s excited for a “huge fight” where people doubt his chances against an undefeated contender.

Although Holloway understands MMA is a sport where people best remember a fighter’s most recent moments, he feels it’s necessary to defend the likes of Edgar and Aldo, because he still views both men as major threats in his weight class.

“Frankie, Aldo, these guys are not dead,” Holloway said. “They’re mid-30s and they’re fighting. People act like Frankie and Aldo are not the top-three guys. They’re still ranked in the top-three with Ortega.

“Come on, guys. Let’s be serious, let’s be real. These guys are not dead, they’re not gone. They’re still around. We’ll see what happens. But right now, the path is going a different way for me with Ortega and I’m focused.”

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