In an entertaining, competitive fight to kick off the UFC 172 main card, Max Holloway produced a late submission victory over Andre Fili.
Round One:
Fili with the jab to start and he takes the center of the cage. He looks to close the distance and Holloway counters as he tries to flurry.
Leg kick from Fili and Holloway responds with a spinning back kick to the body. Holloway keeping his punches long and straight as Fili hits another kick.
Left hand lands for Fili and seems to slightly buckle Holloway’s legs for a split second.
Nice body punch for Fili and again shortly afterwards. He’s using a nice straight jab too. Holloway presses forward with punches. He tries a spinning back kick again to the body.
Right hand scores for Holloway and again as Fili tries to respond. Good leg kick for Fili and then he drops down and charges into a takedown.
He lands it, but Holloway is right back up and breaks free with a little over a minute of the round remaining.
Fili with a body kick and Holloway almost catches it and then presses forward landing a good strike before pressing his opponent up against the cage.
They jockey for position against the cage as the round comes to a close.
Round Two:
They go right back to exchanging in the middle of the Octagon. Spinning back kick lands hard for Holloway and then he clinches his opponent up against the cage.
He’s able to throw up some good knees to the head from the position before they break free.
Jab lands for Fili. He lands a leg kick and tries for a high kick that doesn’t hit the mark, instead landing underneath Holloway’s armpit.
Fili tries a flying armbar attempt, but it doesn’t pay off and they go back to striking. Holloway picking his shots more here, using nice straight shots and paying attention to body shots too.
A kick knocks Holloway off-balance a little. Just as Fili looks as if he’s slowing down a bit, he suddenly bursts forward and gets a takedown. Fili inside his guard now, but not doing too much as Holloway looks to get something going from his back. The referee gets impatient though and stands them up.
Leg kick from Fili and they exchange punches. Holloway connects with another spinning kick to the body and Fili clinches up.
They break apart in the final 30 seconds and Holloway misses with a punch as Fili looks to clinch up and ticks down the remaining seconds against the cage.
Round Three:
Onto the final round. Holloway connects with the jab. Fili tries to clinch up but doesn’t succeed.
Fili trying for a high kick, but misses. He stoops down for a single leg, but Holloway blocks it and lands a knee as they break apart.
Spinning back kick from Holloway that doesn’t connect this time. Holloway looks for punches and Fili again goes for the takedown, landing it this time.
Fili in half guard attempting to pass, but Holloway gets back up. Holloway moves forward and tries to trip his opponent, but doesn’t get it.
Half the round remaining and Fili lands a nice knee up the middle. He tries for another takedown, but Holloway stuffs it and then snaps him down to the mat.
Not for long though, Fili is quickly back up and they jockey for position against the cage.
Holloway lands hard with a left and a right uppercut to follow and Fili might be hurt so he ducks under and goes for a takedown.
However, on the way down Holloway wraps his arm under his chin in a guillotine choke attempt and he’s got it in tight, forcing the tap from Fili with less than two minutes of the fight remaining!
