Team Alpha Male’s Andre Fili seems a potential prodigy at just 23 years old. But Saturday night at UFC 172, he was schooled by a fighter a year younger.
Max Holloway shook off a a slow first round in their featherweight bout at the Baltimore Arena, turned things in his favor in the second, and finished Fili in the third round.
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The 22-year old Hawaii won with a guilotine choke at 3:39 of the final stanza.
“I felt like he was up in the scorecards going into the final round,” said Holloway (12-3). “I had to go for it.”
Fili, who came into the bout on a nine-fight win streak, got the best of things in the opening stanza, beating Holloway to the punch in the standup and scoring takedowns.
By the second round, though, Holloway found his footing. Early in the round, he cracked Fili with a kick, then followed with a series of knees in the clinch. He controlled the pace from there.
Both fighters had their moments in the closing round, but Holloway made sure there were no questions. He cracked Fili with a left-right combo to the jaw to set up the winning choke.
Holloway won his second straight fight; Fili dropped to 14-2.