Max Holloway ‘Blessed’ anyone who had a chance to watch him live on ABC tonight by turning in a vintage display of combination striking as he completely picked apart the ultra-tough Calvin Kattar for five full rounds.
Round One:
The main event of the UFC’s first ever show on ABC is underway on Fight Island.
Holloway with a double jab to start. Another jab for him. Inside leg kick for the former champ. Kattar looks to land one of his own.
Hook and a right hanad behind it from Holloway and then another punch. Kattar misses with a hook. Holloway with another punching combo. Holloway with a low leg kick too.
Body punch and then a quick one upstairs from Holloway. He looks crisp with his work rate so far. Solid calf kick for him.
Nice right hook for Holloway. A body punch lands. Another missed hook from Kattar and Holloway punishes him with another series of punches.
Kattar with a leg kick. Good left for Holloway. Now a calf kick and again. Body punch. Hard body punch and then punches upstairs. Holloway flowing right now.
Terrific three-piece series of straight punches from Holloway. He lands to the body, then back upstairs. Now a knee to the body. Kattar lands a jab and he needs more of that to get Holloway’s attention.
Leg kick for Kattar. Big punch lands for Holloway. Kattar with a connection but Holloway still be far the busier man here.
Spinning back kick to the body from Holloway. Very nice. More punches, not giving Kattar time to settle. He throws another spinning body kick that doesn’t land as cleanly this time. Great first round for ‘Blessed’.
Round Two:
Holloway back to landing cleanly to the head. he’s too fast for Kattar right now as he lands and gets out of the way of the return fire. Kattar with a body punch.
Holloway constantly switching up his attacks, working to the head and body. Now he lands a knee and punches behind it.
Kattar trying to fight fire with fire, but then Holloway turns up the heat and Kattar drops to the mat from a right hand for a brief moment.
Kattar lands nicely and then another punch. Spinning back kick to the body from the former champ and punches behind it.
Kattar still landing the occasional blow but the strike differential is already skewed drastically in Holloway’s favor at this relatively early stage in the fight. Holloway investing nicely in the body as well as the head.
Head kick attempt from Kattar and Holloway partially catches it and pushes him off-balance.
Holloway blasts Kattar with a huge elbow and he looks in real trouble now . Holloway continuing to tee off on him, with Kattar visibly wilting, but still surviving for now.
Again Holloway appears to rock Kattar with a punch. Another elbow blasts him too.
Spectacular stuff from Holloway and he’s not finished yet. He now lands a head kick that again has Kattar on unsteady legs, but the round ends to save him from being finished and he grins at Holloway.
Round Three:
Kattar still game as they go into the third round and credit to him for that. Holloway staying patient though and picks his moment to unleash a barrage of punches, then they clinch up against the cage.
Kattar looks a bit unsteady as he pushes away from that clinch. Nevertheless he lands an uppercut. Now a punch too. Holloway back to landing cleanly soon after though to discourage him from gaining confidence.
Jab and then a solid right for Holloway. Hook and then a body punch for him. Now a body kick. Big left connects too.
More punches and then Holloway steps into a knee to the body. Right hand for Kattar. Holloway with straight punches splitting the guard.
Holloway with a jab. Now a couple of leg kicks. Another left hand. Body punch now. Kattar threatens with an uppercut. He’s still got enough in the tank to be a danger here and so Holloway has to be careful.
Straight punches continue for Holloway. He gets through with a right hand as Kattar covers up. Another big body shot, and another one for good measure shortly afterwards.
Head, body, head combo. Another straight right. Great head movement from Holloway there, he’s on fire tonight.
Round Four:
Jab for Holloway. Hard punch to the body. Another one-two and then a body strike again. Again to the body. Kicks to the leg and then avoids a punch in return.
Another body punch sneaks through. Now he doubles up on the body blows to either side. left hook gets through for Kattar solidly.
More punches to the body and Kattar lands a jab. More lefts and a right. Back to the body. Kattar appeared to cover up a bit there and Holloway recognises it and unleashes another flurry against the cage. He’s landing those bombing elbows too.
Kattar trying to fire back despite being in bad shape. Holloway continues the onslaught. Kattar still biting down on the mouthpiece and flings hooks out in desparation and an elbow, but they don’t find the mark.
This is getting a bit grim now – Kattar’s toughness is remarkable, but Holloway is so clinical and has absolutely brutalized his head and body.
Kattar is not done though and starts to press away from the cage throwing with everything he’s got. Remarkably he’s still a threat here despite all the punishment.
Holloway lands a head kick. He tries a capoeira kick too, but no matter what he does, Kattar somehow remains in te fight. This is the kind of fight that can take a big toll on a fighter though.
Round Five:
Body punch for Holloway. Kattar throwing with power but doesn’t connect. Holloway still has rapid-fire punches in this final round. He lands a leg kick too as he continues to mix up his strikes beautifully.
left hands for Holloway and then round to the side of the body. One-two for Holloway. Another body shot and then a hard connection upstairs.
Again he wraps the punch around to the side of the body. left hand lands for Kattar and a low leg kick.
Spinning back kick to the body for Holloway. Head kick lands, but not with enough power to do major damage.
Body punch and then a leg kick. Crisp jab. More body punches. He says something to the commentary team. He lands a big clean punch. He’s looking to the commentary booth again as he simultaneously dodges punches from Kattar. Very risky stuff from him, but he’s talented enough to make it work. DC and Dan Hardy are losing there minds in the commentary booth. Beware doing an Anderson Silva I’d say though as he does get hit by a punch in the midst of all that!
Holloway still landing cleanly and continues to showboat a little. In a way you can’t blame him, this has been a stellar display of striking from start to finish, and hats off to Kattar who does manage to survive to the final bell, but he took a hell of a lot of punishment along the way.
Decision:
It’s not a matter of who won, but by how much, and the answer is a lot! Holloway gets the unanimous decision victory via some huge margins (50-43 x2, 50-42).
