Max Holloway may no longer have the title, but he struggled to prove that he is still the best featherweight in the sport with his performance at UFC Fight Island 7.
Over five rounds, Holloway placed him in an impressive clinic while dominating Calvin Kattar from start to finish in his main event showdown. If it weren’t for Kattar’s incredible stamina and durability, Holloway would almost certainly have won the submission, but instead, he left the octagon with an unbalanced unanimous decision victory.
The final scorecards scored 50-43, 50-43 and 50-42, with Holloway returning to the winning column after suffering two painful defeats for featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski.
Full of intensity after the fight, Holloway wasted no time talking about the victory, but instead turned his attention to the UFC 257 main event, which takes place a week after Saturday.
“A big fight next week – Dustin Poirier against Conor McGregor,” Holloway shouted at the crowd at Etihad Arena. “Guess what? Your son is going to stay all week, if something happens in this sport, somebody gets out, Dana knows my number, he can call me.”
Before starting to look to the future, Holloway has unquestionably unleashed one of his best performances to date, breaking Kattar from head to toe over five rounds.
Well-known for his hitting volume, Holloway started incredibly fast in the first round, with the former champion throwing three and four punch combinations while also mixing a series of violent kicks. Holloway was mixing up his blows, going to the head and body while Kattar seemed to struggle in his attempt to keep up with the exchanges.
Katter managed to fire two stiff right hands that caught Holloway’s attention, but the New England native was constantly throwing punches that kept him upright.
The Holloway offensive was simply overwhelming as each minute passed in the fight as he came after Kattar with stifling pressure. Holloway was relentless while punching the body and then returning to the head with a variety of blows.
At the end of the second round, Holloway really started to punish him, including a couple of brutal elbow blows that cut Kattar’s head and nearly knocked him off the ground. Somehow, Kattar survived, but he was the injured walking with Holloway looking to attack to kill.
Holloway’s confidence continued to flourish as he played round after round against Kattar, who was resigned to the big punches in an attempt to get back in the fight. Kattar managed to hit Holloway’s chin a few times while trying to use his finishing power, but the Hawaiian legend just advanced as if nothing bothered him.
With the fourth round slowing, Holloway started to really push the pace while hitting Kattar with body shots and elbows to the head. There were several times when it looked like Kattar was still standing because he was pushed against the cage, but he refused to fall or give up while still punching whenever he had a moment to breathe.
It was more of the same during the final five minutes with Holloway smiling and having fun while exchanging pictures with Kattar, who had a wrinkled nose and blood running down his face while leaving everything in the cage to survive until the last horn.
“I’m not going to kneel for anyone,” said Kattar after the fight. “If you’re not a fan of Max Holloway, you’re a hater.”
While Kattar’s stamina is to be commended, it was Holloway’s night from start to finish, as he looked better than ever in his first untitled fight since 2016.
Despite the two defeats to the defending champion, it will be terribly difficult to deny Holloway another chance for gold, considering how he dismantled Kattar over five rounds to consolidate his position as the number one featherweight contender in the world.