Max Holloway outpointed Cole Miller tonight at UFC Fight Night 60 in Colorado, getting the better of him in the stand-up exchanges over the course of three rounds.
Round One:
Low kick from Holloway. He lands another despite Miller’s attempts to move his limb out the way. Another lands and Miller returns with one of his own.
Hook and another kick from Holloway. Now he targets the body with a punch, but Miller responds with a kick to the midsection. Another mid-kick from Miller and Holloway catches it and lands a strike of his own as he lets go.
They continue to trade. Big body kick lands for Holloway and a hook behind it. He connects with another one and Miller counters with one his own. Three-piece punch combo lands for Holloway. Miller with a right hand.
Holloway clinches up against the cage. Miller tries to hop up on him and lands elbows down, but soon after they separate.
Holloway letting loose with a few punches at close range and Miller lands a knee upstairs in there. Holloway down to the mat on top of Miller now. He needs to be careful though as Miller is extremely tricky with submissions. He proves it with a sudden leglock attempt and he continues to make Holloway fend off his submissions as the round comes to a close.
Round Two:
Leg kick from Miller that’s checked. He goes for another low kick. Holloway lands a spinning kick to the midsection. Miller thinks about one of his own, but bails out of it.
Short flurry of punches from Holloway. A couple of short exchanges in close. Light low kick from Miller then he moves in on a takedown attempt, but Holloway defends. Miller tries to pull guard and take him down with a leg lock, but is unsuccessful.
Miller gets caught with a big punch, but he’s ok. Holloway comes in and accidentally clashes heads with Miller which leaves Miller’s head bleeding at his left eyebrow. Miller takes a time out, but thankfully is ok to continue and isn’t bleeding too bad.
They go back to exchanging in close with punches. Holloway tries a kick upstairs, but it’s blocked. Holloway presses forward and connects with a few punches. Miller with a good body kick and then a push kick to follow.
Another leg kick from Miller. Holloway with a spinning kick that doesn’t quite pay off. Miller trying to work into the thai clinch but Holloway defends and they break free.
Flying knee attempt from Holloway and he clinches up. Perhaps another accidental headbutt their and Miller’s wincing and bleeding more from that earlier cut now as the round ends.
Holloway gets a warning in-between rounds for the headbutts even though they appeared to be accidental.
Round Three:
Holloway lands a nice jab. He’s working his punches nicely and starts going to the body too. His volume is increasing. Holloway pushes forward with punches and then a spinning backfist. Miller off-balance and drops to his back for a moment, but then gets back up.
Vicious exchange of punches in close with Holloway getting the better of it. They try to get into the muay thai clinch a couple of times but quickly move away again.
Big punches from Holloway, but Miller is eating them so far. Another flurry from Holloway, really putting his weight into these shots. He tries another spinning backfist that clips his opponent.
Good aggressive work from Holloway and another hard combination finds it’s mark. Miller still doing his best to fire back where possible, but he’s not offering up the same kind of volume or effectiveness at this stage.
Miller looks to change things up with a takedown attempt against the cage. He opts to pull guard with less than a minute to go, but Holloway manages to get back upright.
Miller has blood streaking his face from that earlier cut. Spinning capoeira style kicks from Holloway to finish the round on a high, though he loses his balance at the very end and falls to the mat with Miller following him down as the bell sounds.
Decision:
A fun scrap here and Holloway rightly gets the nod on the judges scorecards (29-28 x2, 30-27).
