UFC 206 will go down live on pay-per-view (PPV) tonight (Saturday December 10, 2016) from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and will feature an interim featherweight title bout between No. 2-ranked Max Holloway and No. 5-ranked Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis. You can check out the full fight card and start time information for
UFC 206 will go down live on pay-per-view (PPV) tonight (Saturday December 10, 2016) from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and will feature an interim featherweight title bout between No. 2-ranked Max Holloway and No. 5-ranked Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis.
You can check out the full fight card and start time information for UFC 206 here below:
Pay-per-view (PPV) 10 p.m. ET: Interim Featherweight title bout: Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis **only Holloway can win interim title since Pettis missed weight** Welterweight:Donald Cerrone vs. Matt Brown Featherweight: Cub Swanson vs. Doo Ho Choi Middleweight: Tim Kennedy vs. Kelvin Gastelum Welterweight: Jordan Mein vs. Emil Meek
Preliminary Card airs (FOX Sports 1) 8 p.m. ET: Light heavyweight: Nikita Krylov vs. Misha Cirkunov Lightweight: Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Drew Dober Catchweight (117.5 pounds) Valerite Letourneau vs. Viviane Pereira Bantamweight: Mitch Gagnon vs. Matthew Lopez
Prelims (UFC Fight Pass) 6:30 p.m. ET: Lightweight: John Makdessi vs. Lando Vannata Catchweight (158 pounds): Jason Saggo vs. Rustam Khabilov Flyweight: Zach Makovsky vs. Dustin Ortiz
UFC 206 is here, and it goes down today from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The prelims will air on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET and FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET. The main card airs on PPV at 10 p.m. ET. An interim featherweight title bout between Max
UFC 206 is here, and it goes down today from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The prelims will air on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET and FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET. The main card airs on PPV at 10 p.m. ET.
An interim featherweight title bout between Max Holloway and former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis will headline this event while Donald Cerrone vs. Matt Brown in a welterweight bout will meet in the co-main event. Rounding out the main card is Cub Swanson vs. Dooho Choi in a featherweight bout, Tim Kennedy vs. Kelvin Gastelum in a middleweight bout and Jordan Mein vs. Emil Weber Meek in a welterweight bout.
Here are the betting odds:
MAIN CARD (10 p.m. ET, pay-per-view)
Interim UFC Featherweight Championship: Anthony Pettis (+165) vs. Max Holloway (-190)
Welterweight: Donald Cerrone (-265) vs. Matt Brown (+225)
Featherweight: Cub Swanson (+180) vs. Dooho Choi (-220)
Middleweight: Tim Kennedy (-155) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (+135)
Welterweight: Jordan Mein (-155) vs. Emil Weber Meek (+135)
PRELIMINARY CARD (8 p.m. ET, FS1)
Light Heavyweight: Misha Cirkunov (-130) vs. Nikita Krylov (+110)
Lightweight: Olivier Aubin-Mercier (-165) vs. Drew Dober (+145)
Strawweight: Valerie Letourneau (-175) vs. Viviane Pereira (+155)
Bantamweight: Mitch Gagnon (-160) vs. Matthew Lopez (+140)
PRELIMINARY CARD (6:30 p.m. ET, UFC Fight Pass)
Lightweight: John Makdessi (+155) vs. Lando Vannata (-175)
Lightweight: Rustam Khabilov (-200) vs. Jason Saggo (+170)
Flyweight: Zach Makovsky (-160) vs. Dustin Ortiz (+140)
Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis became the latest in a long line of issues for UFC 206 yesterday. The Canada-based event had faced issues long before it was even finalized, as negotiations with former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre provided some negative press. This lead to some fans claiming they’d boycott the event, as GSP became
Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis became the latest in a long line of issues for UFC 206 yesterday. The Canada-based event had faced issues long before it was even finalized, as negotiations with former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre provided some negative press. This lead to some fans claiming they’d boycott the event, as GSP became embroiled in a dispute with the promotion. Following that drama, came the removal of the main event title fight.
After Daniel Cormier was injured and Anthony Johnson was dropped from the card, UFC 206 was in need of a revival. UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor was stripped of the title, and so Jose Aldo was promoted. Bumoed up to the main event were Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis, and the interim title was created. Unfortunately for the promotion and the event, that plan fell apart last-minute too.
Heavy
For the first time in his career, Anthony Pettis was unable to make weight. As a result, the junior belt is nopw only up for grabs if Max Holloway wins. Pettis hit the scales at 148 pounds. Speaking for the first time since yesterday’s weigh-in, ‘Showtime’ told MMAFighting.com why he was heavy:
Pettis said he got down to 146.5 pounds before his team decided he would not be able to lose any more weight.
“It was a team call,” Pettis said. “My body just wouldn’t let go of that extra weight. It’s just one those things. We did everything right beforehand, everything was on point. My body just gave out. I had nothing left to give. In the end, we decided that my career and health are more important than those two extra pounds.”
“I’m not here for the interim belt,” he said. “Originally, this fight wasn’t for the belt. The plan has always been to just beat Max Holloway. He’s not beating me tomorrow night.”
What’s Next?
Should Pettis defeat Holloway, although he won’t get the junior belt, surely he’s next for the title shot. That said, if he should face similar weight issues for a full title fight, it would be a far messier situation.
In what has started to truly feel like a main event as the event draws closer, Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis is getting some final pre-fight shine.
Featured above is the always-popular EA SPORTS UFC 2 Simulation vid…
https://youtu.be/FRx5MogmH8o
In what has started to truly feel like a main event as the event draws closer, Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis is getting some final pre-fight shine.
Featured above is the always-popular EA SPORTS UFC 2 Simulation video for this weekend’s pay-per-view main event for the interim UFC Featherweight Title (sort-of — more on that below) between Max “Blessed” Holloway and Anthony “Showtime” Pettis.
Due to the fact that Pettis missed weight for the fight, if he manages to pull off the victory on Saturday evening, he will still not be the interim UFC Featherweight Champion. If Holloway, who did make weight successfully, pulls off the victory over Pettis, he will become the new interim UFC Featherweight Champion.
As seen in the EA SPORTS UFC 2 Simulation video above, the video game simulator believes that Holloway will indeed be a “Blessed” man this weekend, as they predict he will walk out of the Octagon with some extra hardware after what they show to be an all-out war in the 145-pound main event of Saturday’s UFC 206 pay-per-view event in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Join us here at MMANews.com on Saturday evening for live round-by-round results coverage of the UFC 206 pay-per-view.
The main event of UFC 206 may be tarnished by the fact that former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis missed weight by three pounds, yet the match up between he and Max Holloway is still intriguing. But it does but a big asterisk on the event as a whole. The UFC promoting the match to an interim title fight certainly lent more gravity to the situation, but it also forced them to unceremoniously strip Conor McGregor of his title only to have the UFC 206 title fight fall apart. If Holloway wins he still gets the belt. If Anthony Pettis wins he gets his show and win money minus twenty percent. Nevertheless, the fight itself is what counts and breaking it down is still the goal.
The main event of UFC 206 may be tarnished by the fact that former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis missed weight by three pounds, yet the match up between he and Max Holloway is still intriguing. But it does but a big asterisk on the event as a whole. The UFC promoting the match to an interim title fight certainly lent more gravity to the situation, but it also forced them to unceremoniously strip Conor McGregor of his title only to have the UFC 206 title fight fall apart. If Holloway wins he still gets the belt. If Anthony Pettis wins he gets his show and win money minus twenty percent. Nevertheless, the fight itself is what counts and breaking it down is still the goal.
Max Holloway has emerged as one of the most dangerous strikers in the featherweight division, but striking isn’t the only thing he does well. He also has good timing on his takedowns and some solid grappling skills that has seen him tap out Cub Swanson with a suffocating guillotine choke. On the feet Holloway is able to fight in both stances, but not in the way of most other strikers of his ilk. Instead of switching stance at distance, Holloway is able to switch stances in the middle of striking combinations which open up new angles to exploit on his opponent. It’s the kind of skill that he’ll want to utilize in this match up, all the while forcing Pettis’ back against the fence. Both men are of similar height and reach, but Pettis is a fighter who likes to have space behind him in order to throw his offense effectively. Holloway has to do everything in his power to take away that option and by doing so can pick Pettis apart along the fence.
On the flip side of the table, Anthony Pettis is going to want to control the center of the cage for the duration of the fight. He has a dynamic kicking game that can be frustrated when he’s moving backwards. Holding the center of the cage will give him more offensive options and ensure that he has room to bail on certain techniques if he’s out of position. Rather than focusing on a flashy approach, Pettis is going to want to play counter fighter in this match up, but not by simply sitting back and waiting for Holloway to lead. Instead he’ll want to initiate the striking exchanges, pull back, then reenter with sharp counters, something that his taekwondo background is sure to have taught him. Like Doo Ho Choi who appears earlier on the card, Pettis is a wizard at picking up on his opponents mistakes except that he answers back with kicks rather than punches. Pettis can’t let Holloway get comfortable and find too much of a rhythm or risk getting potentially out struck by Holloway’s superior striking game.
This fight is sure to be fun while it lasts. While Pettis is certainly far from being washed up, the betting lines may have it right when it comes to this match up. Look for Max Holloway to out strike the former lightweight champion en route to a decision victory.
Will Holloway become interim featherweight champion or will Pettis redeem himself?
Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.
Despite a seemingly never-ending run of problems that make the vent seem somewhat doomed, tomorrow night (Dec. 10, 2016) the UFC will go forward with UFC 206 from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The card was supposed to feature the long-awaited return of former welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre, but those plans hit a snag when negotiations with
Despite a seemingly never-ending run of problems that make the vent seem somewhat doomed, tomorrow night (Dec. 10, 2016) the UFC will go forward with UFC 206 from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
The card was supposed to feature the long-awaited return of former welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre, but those plans hit a snag when negotiations with the UFC’s new ownership stalled. Then, Daniel Cormier was forced out of his replacement main event light heavyweight title bout versus Anthony Johnson with a groin injury. The UFC then decided to strip Conor McGregor of the featherweight belt he never defended to create an interim championship for the card’s original Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis co-main, which became the main event on short notice, but even that fell apart when “Showtime” badly missed weight today.
Confused? No one can blame you. But UFC 206 will still roll on with only Holloway being able to win the interim featherweight championship and Donald Cerrone meeting Matt Brown in an exciting welterweight co-main event.
Rise above the mess and find out who we picked to win at UFC 206 right here.
Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis:
Mike Drahota:
The UFC’s most cobbled-together title fight ever received yet another disheartening blow when Pettis missed weight by an astonishing three pounds earlier today, amplifying the fact that he was somehow enjoying steak and eggs on this week’s UFC 206 Embedded. He had a golden opportunity after losing three straight at lightweight and receiving a title shot after just one win at featherweight, but now it’s safe to wonder if the botched attempt to make 145 pounds will affect his performance against “Blessed.”
It’s the wrong fight to have that playing against him, because Holloway has looked like nothing less than a destroyer during his nine-fight win streak that should probably already see him meeting Jose Aldo for the true belt. Pettis can end any fight in a flash, but I think his health will hold him back here against the lengthy, accurate striking of Holloway. I have to pick Holloway by decision.
Rory Kernaghan:
Tough call for me at the top of UFC 206, as both Holloway and Pettis have the tools to finish each other. Where I feel this fight is tipped in the balance is in the striking, and unfortunately for ‘Blessed,’ that’s not going in his favor. ‘Showtime’ has crazy power and technique, and although Holloway can bang and has speed, I feel his standing style will play against him tonight. I’m going to pick Anthony Pettis for the decision win.
Mike Henken:
In my opinion, Holloway is the clear pick in this 145-pound interim title bout and for good reason, as the Hawaiian has rattled off an incredibly impressive nine straight wins. He’s proven to be well-rounded fighter and he’s also proven that he’s without question one of the best fighters in the division, but I have a strange feeling about this bout. For some reason, I’m going to go with my gut and side with Pettis. “Showtime” has only one two of his last three bouts, but his featherweight debut was impressive to say the least, as he dismantled top-10 contender Charles Oliveira last August. Pettis’ submission game has always been underrated in my opinion, and his striking has always been second to none. I’m expecting a firefight. Pettis by decision.
Donald Cerrone vs. Matt Brown:
Mike Drahota:
This is a fight that could and should be somewhat of a throwback – a knockdown, drag-out brawl where both fighters don’t seem to like each other that much. However, there are some sizeable distractions in place for both competitors, as Cerrone’s involvement with the MMAAA as a founding member and his nearly complete flip flop that followed can’t have his mind only focused on fighting. For Brown, his back is against the wall in a big way after a recent down streak, and it seems he has perhaps generated some beef that seems a bit forced in order to pump himself up for a must-win fight. Time will tell if that helps or hurts him, but I can’t look past Cerrone’s recent results compared to Brown’s. Cowboy by TKO round two.
Rory Kernaghan:
Cerrone is one of those fighters who could beat most top ranked fighters if he’s on point. Arguably Matt Brown could be lumped in to that debate, but I feel ‘Cowboy’ has the greater potential in this fight. Although Brown tried some pre-fight mind games at the staredowns, I don’t think he’ll have Cerrone off his game. The Greg Jackson product has the smoother and more technical striking, and also the defensive skills and footwork to avoid getting in an all-out brawl. Still a tough pick, and it could go the other way, but my gut tells me ‘Cowboy’ for the second round TKO.
Mike Henken:
Brown was once a surging welterweight contender on a solid win streak, but he has since lost four of his last five with his last two losses coming by way of stoppage. Now, Cerrone is the red-hot 170-pounder, as he’s won three straight in the division, all by way of finish. I expect him to continue his streak in Canada and in impressive fashion. Cerrone by second round TKO.
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