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The former king of the featherweights is looking for a path to the crown. Max Holloway will face Calvin Kattar in a decisive featherweight fight at the UFC Fight Night main event on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This is the first UFC show of the year, and the main card will air on ABC, the home of boxing for several decades.
The winner of this fight could be next in line for a title opportunity. ESPN has Holloway ranked No. 2 and Kattar No. 6 in the featherweight division.
Holloway (21-6) lost two in a row to current champion Alexander Volkanovski. The two fights were very close and many believed Holloway won the second at UFC 251 in July. Holloway, 29, is the most decorated featherweight in UFC history. He held a 145-pound UFC title from 2016 to 2019. The Hawaiian native has the most wins (16), most KO / TKO wins (8) and most stoppage wins ( 10) in UFC featherweight history.
Kattar (22-4) has won two in a row and four of his last five games. The Massachusetts native has four finishes in six UFC wins. Kattar, 32, comes off a unanimous decision victory over Dan Ige last July.
In the co-main event, two of the most exciting fighters in UFC welterweight history – Carlos Condit and Matt Brown – go head to head. Condit (31-13), a former interim UFC welterweight champion, broke a five-game losing streak in his last fight, a victory over Court McGee. Brown (22-17) had a two-game winning streak in his last fight against Miguel Baeza.
Also on the card, welterweight contender Santiago Ponzinibbio returns after more than two years of absence due to illness to face Li Jingliang, and knockout artist Joaquin Buckley meets Alessio Di Chirico in a welterweight bout.
A strong card will have an additional adrenaline rush as fans will be allowed to enter Etihad Arena. The building can accommodate 18,000 seats, but only 2,000 fans will be allowed.
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Current fight:
Heavyweight: Carlos Felipe (9-1, 1-1 UFC, -200) vs. Justin Tafa (4-1, 1-1 UFC, +170)
Results:
Welterweight: Ramazan Emeev (20-4, 5-1 UFC) defeats David Zawada (17-6, 1-3 UFC) by split decision
Recap to come.
Women’s bantamweight: Vanessa Melo (11-8, 1-3 UFC) defeats Sarah Moras (6-8, 3-6 UFC) via unanimous decision
For three rounds, Melo stalked forward punches. She ate a few hits in the process, and all the big hooks didn’t land, but enough for her to take the win.
Melo defeated Moras by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in a women’s bantamweight bout, the UFC’s first women’s fight in 2021.
The most important strike came in the second round. Melo whipped up a combination that resulted in a spade left hook, cracking Moras in the nose. Moras’ mouthpiece fell off after the punch and his nose became bloody. Moras has had some success with his jab and kicks. But there was no doubt that Melo was delivering the hardest hits throughout the fight.
Melo, 32, had a three-game losing streak. The Brazilian won her first UFC victory. Moras, a 32-year-old native of Canada, has now lost two in a row and five of her last six.
– Raimondi
Watch this fight on ESPN +.
Men’s featherweight: Austin Lingo (8-1, 1-1 UFC) defeats Jacob Kilburn (8-4, 0-2 UFC) via unanimous decision
Lingo hadn’t fought since his first loss last February. But it wasn’t long before he got back on track, dropping Kilburn within the first 30 seconds. But his work was not yet finished.
After Kilburn got back to his feet, Lingo started peppering him with sharp jabs, left hooks and other right hands on his way to get the nod on all three scorecards.
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Two judges scored the bout 30-26 and the other 30-27.
Kilburn, in his first fight since 2019, didn’t make it easy, despite the lopsided scorecards. The 25-year-old from Clarksville, Tennessee attempted a takedown after a takedown, and as the fight progressed he appeared to be the freshest contender. But he couldn’t escape Lingo’s punches and suffered his second straight loss.
Lingo, 26 and fighter in Dallas, had not competed since last February’s unanimous decision loss to Youssef Zalal.
– Wagenheim
Watch this fight without ESPN +.
Still to come:
Men’s Featherweight: Max Holloway (21-6, 17-6 UFC, -160) vs Calvin Kattar (22-4, 6-2 UFC, +135)
Welterweight: Carlos Condit (31-13, 8-9 UFC, -170) vs. Matt Brown (24-17, 15-11 UFC, +145)
Welterweight: Santiago Ponzinibbio (28-3, 9-2 UFC, -310) vs. Li Jingliang (17-6, 9-4 UFC, +250)
Middleweight: Joaquin Buckley (12-3, 2-1 UFC, -300) vs. Alessio Di Chirico (12-5, 3-5 UFC, +240)
Middleweight: Punahele Soriano (7-0, 1-0 UFC, +135) vs. Dusko Todorovic (10-0, 1-0 UFC, -160)
Female bantamweight: Wu Yanan (11-3, 1-2 UFC, -115) vs Joselyne Edwards (9-2, 0-0 UFC, -105)
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