Jose Aldo will have the opportunity to win back his UFC featherweight championship this Saturday, when he and the incumbent Max Holloway clash in a much-anticipated rematch at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
“Blessed” Holloway shocked Rio de Janeiro when he stripped Aldo of the title in his own Brazilian backyard at UFC 212 in June, and the promotion recently advertised a stacked fight card ahead of their second successive showdown:
Aldo gathered an early head of steam in the first meeting between these two fighters, but it was Holloway who finished the stronger of the two and collected a TKO victory via punches to unify the featherweight belts.
Now a fully fledged title holder in the UFC, this will be the Waianae, Hawaii, native’s first test defending his strap, and the competition doesn’t get much higher.
The ceremonial UFC 218 weigh-in will take place at Little Caesars Arena at 6 p.m. ET (11 p.m. GMT), and we provide all the hype leading up to that event, complete with fight prediction and preview.
Tickets for UFC 218 can be purchased via StubHub.com.
Preview
Saturday’s matchup will pit undoubtedly the two best fighters in the featherweight division against one another after Aldo stepped up to replace the injured Frankie Edgar in the headline spot.
An unexpected recall to the title slot offers the South American icon a gifted opportunity to reclaim what he lost at UFC 212, but MMA writer Mike Bohn recently pointed to evidence a victory may be difficult for him to come by:
Throughout his rise to the top of the featherweight ladder, Holloway has exuded a calm but motivated demeanour, symbolic of his Hawaiian roots, but the pressure of defending as champion can often change a fighter.
However, Fox Sports: UFC provided footage from the most recent UFC 218 Embedded vlog series, suggesting the addition of a belt hasn’t altered the man wearing it in the buildup to his first defence:
Aldo, the longest-reigning featherweight champion in the promotion’s history, will look to immediately dethrone Holloway, a rising superstar of the sport.
Max Holloway Keeps the Blessed Era Alive
To say Holloway had a slow start in Rio de Janeiro a little more than five months ago would be an understatement as he absorbed blows from Aldo that could well have finished a lesser competitor.
The fact he was able to wade through those was a testament to his chin, but former UFC fighter Dan Hardy and presenter John Gooden recently discussed how the kicking game could be more telling this time around in the latest Inside the Octagon:
It’s important to note Aldo, 31, has never lost successive fights or a rematch in his career and many expect him to be a hungrier beast this time around.
Blessed bounced back from a sloppy start to take the belt in June, and MMA Junkie’s George Garcia predicted an almost-identical outcome in the second clash:
Although his fight IQ nods to a more experienced veteran, 18-3 Holloway is six years Aldo’s younger and will likely have an advantage in areas such as stamina and speed, not to mention he’s already faced the Brazilian’s worst.
The fact Aldo has taken the fight on shorter notice than his previously scheduled bout with Ricardo Lamas also won’t help his cause. And if he can’t finish the fight, one gets the sense Holloway—who has gone the distance only three times while amassing an 11-fight win streak—will.
Prediction: Holloway to Win via TKO (punches)
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