Masterful Max Holloway just produced an all-time great fighting performance days after saying he'd rematch Conor McGregor
- Max Holloway produced a fighting masterclass Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
- The featherweight great destroyed Calvin Kattar in a one-sided beatdown for the ages.
- Holloway said earlier this week he'd relish rematching Conor McGregor, and said in his victory speech he'd stay an extra week on Fight Island in case anything happened to one of the main event athletes at UFC 257.
- Watch a highlight clip of Holloway's brilliant but brutal victory here.
FIGHT ISLAND - Masterful Max Holloway just produced an all-time great fighting performance days after saying he'd relish rematching Conor McGregor.
Calvin Kattar was on a two-fight win streak having sliced Jeremy Stephens' nose open in a knockout win before out-gunning Dan Ige in a five-round war that messed-up his opponent's face.
He was hoping to take that momentum into the Holloway fight, win in style, and secure a title shot against Alexander Volkanovski.
But inside the newly-built Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, January 16, Kattar was left beaten, broken, and bloodied as he ran into Holloway's fists and kicks all night long.
It was brutal viewing.
Holloway was dominant in every minute of every round, throwing kicks into Kattar's body that were so hard they could be heard slapping through the venue.
He varied his punching throughout the one-sided 25-minute beatdown, channeled Muhammad Ali late in the bout by showboating, and yelled "I'm the best boxer in the UFC" as he evaded Kattar's shots.
By the end of the fight, Holloway landed a record 447 strikes from 746 attempts (59%) while reducing Kattar to 134 from 286 (47%).
Earlier this week at a Fight Island press conference Insider attended, Holloway spoke of his desire to fight McGregor a second time.
The two athletes fought in 2013 with the Irish striker winning a decision. Both have led different, but successful careers since then, with Holloway establishing himself as one of the very best featherweights in the history of MMA.
His victory over Kattar will be one of his signature wins, adding to a hulking legacy that includes wins over Charles Oliveira, Jose Aldo (twice), and Brian Ortega.
Should Holloway keep on winning like that, it is a rematch that could generate great hype.
But speaking in the middle of the Octagon after bludgeoning Kattar, Holloway said he'd make himself available for it in just seven days' time should anything happen to one of the UFC 257 main event competitors.
"All I gotta say is there's a big, big fight next week," said Holloway after his win.
"Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor and guess what, your boy [me] is staying another week. If anything happens and somebody drops off, Dana [White] knows my number. He can hit me up."
With the win, Holloway advances his pro MMA record to 22 wins (10 knockouts, two submissions, and 10 decisions) against six losses.
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One of the UFC's most spectacular knockout artists just got brutally knocked out on Fight Island