The UFC starts its 2021 slate with a bang on Saturday.
UFC at ABC 1 marks the return of the promotion to the television network after an absence of two years since he left the former broadcast partner FOX Sports. It is the first of three events in eight days in Abu Dhabi. And the UFC’s first main event of 2021 looks like a potential paper-burning burner when former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway takes on Bostonian Calvin Kattar in a succession of five rounds.
UFC on ABC 1 takes place on Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The main card will air on ABC and broadcast on ESPN + after the preliminaries on ESPN +.
Without further ado, then, here are five burning questions that the UFC at ABC 1 should answer.
How will Max Holloway respond at an important career crossroads?
Max Holloway
Holloway (21-6 MMA, 17-6 UFC) lost three of his last four fights, but not all 1-3 sections are created equal.
At UFC 236, Holloway, the featherweight champion, rose in weight and endured five rounds before losing to Dustin Poirier in the fight for the provisional title. At UFC 240, he defeated Frankie Edgar in defense of the title. At UFC 245, he suffered an evident defeat to Alexander Volkanovski by unanimous decision. At UFC 251, Volkanovski won a highly controversial split decision, as many – including this reporter – felt that Holloway won the fight.
A 1-3 in these circumstances, fighting the best competition in the world, going far in each fight and undoubtedly being stolen in one, is very different than a fighter losing three out of four and looking like he’s finished.
But that still doesn’t mitigate the cold facts of the situation: Volkanovski is still the champion; Holloway will have a long way back as long as that is the case, and competition is not getting any easier. Kattar (22-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) is suffering and, as such, Holloway’s first untitled fight since 2016 should serve as a measure of whether he will have another chance.
Can Calvin Kattar make his most definitive statement?
It may seem that Kattar is a promising prospect that has burst onto the scene in recent years. After all, we are only three and a half years from his UFC debut, when he scored what was considered a frustrating victory over Andre Fili at UFC 214.
But in reality, this has been a long and arduous climb for Kattar. This week, conversations emerged on Twitter pointing out the almost overlooked fact that Kattar competed in the knockout of the legendary Elite XC event of June 2008 on CBS, which was spearheaded by the late Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson.
The Bostonian has been fighting professionally since 2007, three years before Holloway made his debut.
Some are put on the fastest path. Some arise in the most difficult way. Kattar’s career is at its peak at the right time, with enough experience to have seen and done everything, while he is still young enough, at 32, to be at the top of his physical game.
Twelve years later, he had a chance to fight a world-class competitor like Holloway. And with that, the chance to prove that we should be more attentive from the start.
Matt Brown vs. Carlos Condit is arriving late. And?
Carlos Condit x Matt Brown
Perhaps you came along during the rise of Ronda Rousey and don’t know what Matt Brown was like during his heyday.
Or maybe you started watching while Carlos Condit was in a five-game losing streak and wondered what all the fuss was about “The Assassin Nato.”
If you lost your cousins, well, you did. Condit (31-13 MMA, 8-9 UFC) was a champion level fighter who never lost his talent for thrilling bloodbaths along the way. Brown (22-17 MMA, 15-11 UFC) never reached the level of the Condit title, but he took full advantage of his talent and complemented him with a pure heart, culminating in a streak of seven consecutive UFC victories in 2012- 14
Along the way, Brown vs. Condit was heralded as a dream fight of all action. It was booked twice and fell twice.
Now it’s finally here. Brown just turned 40. Condit will turn 37 in April. Both dealt with injuries. None of them will run another title race. But Condit is coming from victory, and Brown won two out of three. Condit is in the last fight of his contract with the UFC, and Brown hinted that this could be his last tango, so both are very motivated.
Maybe this is not the fight it could have been a decade ago, but let’s just appreciate that this fight is finally here and sit back and enjoy.
Can Santiago Ponzinibbio continue where he left off?
It was a declaration victory and the culmination of a long journey: Santiago Ponzinibbio knocked out Neil Magny in the fourth round of the UFC Buenos Aires main event, a memorable moment in his hometown, his seventh consecutive victory, his second “Performance of the Night”, in three fights, and the definitive declaration that he had reached the first division of the welterweight category.
This fight was in November 2018 and it was the last time we saw Ponzinibbio (27-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) until this week. Injuries and health problems, such as staph infection, left him aside after his best moment, and the division has changed greatly in his absence.
Will the rust on the ring get in the way or can Ponzinibbio continue where it left off? It really is as simple as for the Argentine, who faces a solid short-term substitution in Li Jinliang (17-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) on the main card of the night.
Can Joaquin Buckley continue to gain momentum?
Look, unless Joaquin Buckley becomes the next generation version of a first-rate Anderson Silva, we are not likely to see anything approaching his all-time big knockout over Impa Kasanganay.
But Buckley seems to be in the process of doing something more important in the long run: establishing that he is on his way to becoming a legitimate middleweight contender.
Buckley (12-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) came back on top of his viral spotlight in October and fought Jordan Wright a month later at UFC 255, and this time, he showed balance and patience in dressing Wright and wearing the old school soil. and pound to win a TKO in the second round.
So Buckley showed that he can do this both in a flashy and a bold way. Now he is back for his third fight in three months, facing Alessio Di Chirico (12-5 MMA, 3-5 UFC). This may not be the fight that takes you to the top of the category, but three wins in three months would be a great way to demonstrate that you are eager to prove that you are ready to climb that ladder and climb fast.