Max Holloway leaves featherweight rival Calvin Kattar a BLOODY mess in UFC Fight Island 7 masterclass
FORMER UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway left Calvin Kattar a bloody mess in their UFC Fight Island 7 showdown, in which he put on an absolute clinic.
The fan favourite threw down with the in-form Kattar on Saturday night in the main event of the UFC‘s first show of 2021, which took place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
And he put on an imperious performance to leave the 32-year-old dripping with blood and on the receiving end of a unanimous decision loss, with the judges scoring the contest 50-43, 50-43, 50-42.
Surprisingly, Holloway came out of the blocks a lot more aggressively, something we’ve not been accustomed to in recent years
Boston’s Kattar was determined not to allow the former champion to take the centre of the octagon and immediately stepped to him.
Holloway, however, soon found a rhythm and started to find a home for his combinations. The pride of Hawaii also made good use of leg kicks to try and take away the mobility of the New England Cartel featherweight.
Holloway landed a huge spinning back kick to the body with 30 seconds left of the first stanza before punctuating the round with another flurry of punches.
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Aware he lost the first round, Kattar came out aggressively at the start of the second, pumping out his jab to try and find his range.
But an imperious Holloway slipped his range finders for fun before mocking him for failing to find the target.
Although he was having trouble finding a home for his shots, Kattar – who had previously won his last two on the bounce – was still presenting Holloway some problems.
A left hook found a home on Holloway’s chin and briefly prompted him to reconsider his approach. That reconsideration lasted a matter of seconds as he pushed forward and landed another flurry of shots.
Holloway went in for the kill with a minute left on the clock after landing a nasty right elbow that busted open Kattar.
And he nearly closed the show in the final seconds of the round after landing a left high kick that wobbled the Bostonian.
To his credit, Kattar didn’t wilt following the close finish and started well at the beginning of the third. But, as he so often does, Holloway began to drown him with his pressure.
A stiff uppercut, however, reminded Blessed that his man was by no means out of the contest. Fatigue soon took over the normally-active Kattar and stopped him from throwing more than one shot at a time.
That played into Holloway’s favour as he began to anticipate the punches coming his way and returned fire with multiple flurries. And to put another exclamation point on the round, he broke into the robot after avoiding Kattar’s final flurry.
Despite being down three rounds, Kattar’s spirit was far from broken, although it was beginning to feel like he was at the mercy of the former champ – who began to make a concerted effort to rip shots to the body as well as the head.
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That bodywork appeared to be the undoing of Kattar as it led to him eating wave after wave of flurries.
Kattar, however, somehow managed to survive the storm and make it to the fifth round. And he came out swinging after the final restart.
Holloway’s relentless pressure and accuracy continued to take a toll on the face of The Boston Finisher, which was battered, bruised and crimson red.
Not happy that he was having things all his own way, Holloway roared ‘let’s go’ in the face of Kattar to spark a war – much to the frustration of his corner.
But their concerns ultimately ended being misplaced as their man evaded Kattar’s onslaughts to pick up his first win over a year.
A crestfallen Kattar was quick to give Holloway his props, saying: “You have to kill me to get me out of there.
“I will not take a knee for anyone. If you are not a Max Holloway fan then you are a hater. He deserves another title shot.”