What worries me is that we don’t know when the levee is going to break meaning, Holloway has taken so much abuse over the course of his hall-of-fame career that we can’t predict which punch is going to be the one to close the show. This is a dangerous fight for Holloway because he’s lumbering to the cage with something to prove and wants to unload his offense on Kattar. If there was ever a time to nitpick, this is it. 1-ranked fighter in the division who has fought (and beaten) just about every big name at featherweight. It’s also fair to point out that Kattar’s loss to Zabit Magomedsharipov was just over a year ago, so we can’t pretend “The Boston Finisher” is light years ahead of where he once was. Similarly, Kattar took Ricardo Lamas behind the woodshed when “The Bully” was already 37 years-old by that point and tumbling down the 145-pound ladder. 8 in the division but “Lil’ Heathen” has lost four straight fights (not including his No Contest) and was knocked out in two of those losses. I don’t want to poo-poo on a win because it certainly beats a loss, I just prefer not to get overly excited about what Kattar has been doing at 145 pounds. They certainly aren’t showing you any highlights from his Dan Ige headliner on ESPN because there aren’t any. I think the reason “The Boston Finisher” is joining us this weekend atop the promotion’s return to Abu Dhabi is because of his knockout win over Jeremy Stephens. It’s hard to know what we’ve got in the form of Calvin Kattar, a talented boxer with good power and a rock-solid chin.
The tests came back normal and Holloway claims to feel fine, but it’s worth pointing out that “Blessed” went on to lose three of his next five. I also have to be “that guy” and wonder about that brain scare we had back in summer 2018. Yes, he says all the right things during the pre-fight videos - Calvin Kattar is my only focus and blah, blah, blah - but those of us who’ve been around the fight game know that bad losses are like bad teeth, they are hard to ignore because they hurt so much. I think the question I have heading into this fight is how much Holloway is thinking about his Volkanovski loss. Most of the major media outlets including MMA Junkie and Sherdog scored it for Volkanovski, because it was a close fight and close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. And while the “Blessed” team is parroting promotion president Dana White, who believes the Hawaiian got robbed in his 145-pound rematch, I’m not sure it was the injustice the narrative is making it out to be. Most of the talk surrounding Max Holloway has been (and continues to be) his close decision loss to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 251 last July. 6 | Last fight: Unanimous decision win over Dan Ige Takedown Average: 0.47 (37% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 88%Ĭurrent Ranking: No. Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 5.66 | Striking Defense: 55% Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 5.01 | Striking accuracy: 41% Height: 5’11“ | Reach: 72” | Stance: Orthodox
Wins: 11 KO/TKO, 2 SUB, 9 DEC | Losses: 0 KO/TKO, 1 SUB, 3 DEC 1 | Last fight: Split-decision loss to Alex Volkanovski
Takedown Average: 0.22 (83% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 83%Ĭurrent Ranking: No. Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 4.52 | Striking Defense: 61% Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 6.47 | Striking accuracy: 44% Height: 5’11“ | Reach: 69” | Stance: Orthodox Wins: 10 KO/TKO, 2 SUB, 9 DEC | Losses: 0 KO/TKO, 1 SUB, 5 DEC Kattar” odds and betting lines click here. Fighter-turned-writer-turned-fighter again, Andrew Richardson, did most of the heavy lifting for the rest of the main card right here. Before we dive into the main and co-main events, be sure to check out the complete UFC Fight Island 7 preliminary card breakdown, expertly deconstructed by the jet-setting Patrick Stumberg here and here.
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