Max Holloway has long been a prized prospect in the UFC, and the No. 2 featherweight contender can finally realize his dream of becoming a champion when he battles former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis for the interim 145-pound title at UFC 206 this …
Max Holloway has long been a prized prospect in the UFC, and the No. 2 featherweight contender can finally realize his dream of becoming a champion when he battles former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis for the interim 145-pound title at UFC 206 this Saturday in Toronto.
The 25-year-old Holloway has won his last nine fights, and he is a -200 betting favorite (wager $200 to win $100) to win the belt at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark, while Pettis (19-5) is listed as a +175 underdog (bet $100 to win $175).
The featherweight title was vacated by ConorMcGregor due to his inactivity within the division and lack of interest in fighting any of the top contenders. That includes the young Hawaiian Holloway, who sits right behind only No. 1 contender Frankie Edgar and undisputed champ Jose Aldo in the official UFC rankings.
The winner between Holloway and Pettis will face Aldo to unify the titles sometime in 2017. Holloway’s last loss came versus McGregor via unanimous decision back in 2013. That was just the brash Irishman’s second appearance in the UFC while Holloway was only 21 years old.
Pettis was the reigning lightweight champ at that time as well before defending the title once and suffering three consecutive losses to prompt his drop to 145. The 29-year-old Milwaukee native submitted Charles Oliveira by guillotine choke in the third round of his featherweight debut at UFC on Fox 21 on August 27, snapping his three-bout skid and proving he was a force to be reckoned with in the division moving forward.
In the co-main event, a pair of welterweights will duke it out in an effort to climb up the rankings. Donald Cerrone (31-7, 1 no contest) is another former lightweight contender who switched divisions, only he moved up from 155 to 170 after losing his title shot to former champ Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC on Fox 17 last December.
Cerrone is 3-0 as a welterweight with three Performance of the Night bonuses to his name, which is one of the main reasons he is a big -280 favorite against the slumping Matt Brown (20-15).
A former top welterweight contender after winning seven in a row between 2012 and 2014, Brown has lost four of five to drop out of the Top 10. He is a +220 underdog and will be looking to push the pace in what could be a good bet for Fight of the Night.
The UFC will be back in pay-per-view action with UFC 206 on Saturday. The event will take place in Toronto with a featherweight match between Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis as the headline bout.
The Pettis vs. Holloway fight has replaced the original …
The UFC will be back in pay-per-view action with UFC 206 on Saturday. The event will take place in Toronto with a featherweight match between Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis as the headline bout.
The Pettis vs. Holloway fight has replaced the original headlining bout between Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson.
Pettis and Holloway will be battling for the interim featherweight title, and four other exciting matches are scheduled for the undercard.
With official weigh-ins scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on Friday, now is the perfect time to examine the upcoming event, along with some of the top storylines heading into the weekend.
Pettis and Holloway will be battling for the interim featherweight title because the UFC decided to strip the belt from former titleholder and MMA personality extraordinaire Conor McGregor.
While the UFC announced McGregor relinquished the belt, the former champion has denied doing so.
“They’re trying to strip me. Well, I ain’t stripped. I still got that belt,” McGregor said, per Damon Martin of Fox Sports. “That belt’s sitting in my home right now. I’m still the two-weight world champion. Someone’s got to come take that off me. I see articles. I see stuff online, but I don’t see the belt not in my presence.”
Coral Barry of Metroreported the UFC decided to take the belt because McGregor had informed the company he intends to take an extended break from action. Per Barry, McGregor isn’t planning on returning until November 2017.
The UFC has had champions out of action for long periods of time, but with McGregor holding two belts, it does make some sense to put one of the titles back into play.
Of course, the move also creates an interesting situation.
Does the Interim Belt Even Mean Anything?
To some, the UFC made the Holloway vs. Pettis fight for the interim title for only one reason: to add a belt to UFC 206’s main event. Upon stripping McGregor of the belt, the company also made former titleholder Jose Aldo the undisputed champion.
Ben Fowlkes of MMAjunkie summed up the ensuing situation:
So, just to sum up: You have one former champ who never lost the title (McGregor), one current champ whose belt went from interim to genuine while he sat on his couch (Aldo), one deserving contender who’s won nine in a row yet still can’t get a crack at the real belt (Holloway), and another who’s won exactly one fight as a featherweight, yet still has the same chance to grab a new hunk of leather and metal with one successful night’s work (Pettis).
The basic point is that fans who respect McGregor are likely to still consider him the real champion. Those who don’t may or may not consider Aldo a worthy champion, but the company does.
Few fans, however, are likely to consider the fight between Holloway and Pettis a legitimate title bout. This doesn’t mean the main event isn’t going to be a tremendous fight—it should be—but putting an interim belt on the line doesn’t add to the card’s luster.
Will Georges St-Pierre Ever Return to the UFC?
One of the most interesting storylines of late involves a match that won’t be a part of UFC 206. If legendary fighter Georges St-Pierre is to be believed, however, there’s a chance it could have been.
According to Bleacher Report guest columnist Brian D’Souza, St-Pierre was interested in returning at UFC 206 to take on middleweight champion Michael Bisping.
“I was aiming for [UFC 206] in Toronto,” St-Pierre told D’Souza in November. “We had talks about fighting Michael Bisping. I even met [UFC President] Dana White personally. They made an offer, we made a counteroffer, but we didn’t hear any response from them.”
Returning for UFC 206 would have made sense for the Canada native, and it would have brought a ton of attention to the event. St-Pierre is arguably one of the top MMA fighters in recent history, and his return would have made the card a must-watch.
Instead, the UFC decided to fabricate a belt to put on the line.
At 35 years old, the clock is ticking for St-Pierre to return in peak condition. As much as fans would love to see the fabled fighter back in action, they don’t want to see an over-the-hill St-Pierre coming back just to cash in on another payday.
The biggest card in MMA history will take place Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City, headlined by Conor McGregor (20-3) vs. Eddie Alvarez (28-4) for the lightweight championship in the main event at UFC 205.
McGregor is listed as a…
The biggest card in MMA history will take place Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City, headlined by ConorMcGregor (20-3) vs. Eddie Alvarez (28-4) for the lightweight championship in the main event at UFC 205.
McGregor is listed as a solid -155 favorite (bet $155 to win $100) to become the organization’s first simultaneous two-division champion at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.
Alvarez is the reigning lightweight champion and will be making his first title defense as a +135 underdog (bet $100 to win $135) after upsetting Rafael Dos Anjos via first-round knockout at UFC Fight Night 90 back on July 7 in Las Vegas.
The lone loss for Alvarez in the UFC came in his debut against Donald Cerrone by unanimous decision at UFC 178 two years ago. The former Bellator lightweight champ then earned consecutive split-decision wins over Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis before taking the belt.
McGregor, who is also the current featherweight champ, will have a significant five-inch reach advantage and split his last two bouts at welterweight versus Nate Diaz.
Many feel the brash Irishman’s natural division is lightweight (155 lbs) rather than featherweight (145) or welterweight (170), so this is his chance to prove he can beat the best there and make history. No UFC fighter has ever held two titles at the same time.
Two other championship fights will also take place on the historic NYC card that will be the first ever held in New York state.
In the co-main event, welterweight champ TyronWoodley (16-3) is a +170 underdog against rising star Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (13-1), the -200 favorite. Thompson is riding a seven-fight winning streak since suffering his only career loss to Matt Brown via UD at UFC 145 in 2012.
Meanwhile, Woodley is coming off a stunning first-round KO of former champ Robbie Lawler at UFC 201 on July 30 and has won five of six, with the loss by UD to Rory MacDonald at UFC 174.
The women’s strawweight title is up for grabs as well, although champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk (12-0) is a massive -400 favorite versus Karolina Kowalkiewicz (10-0), the +300 underdog. Both Polish women have yet to lose, but Jedrzejczyk has six wins in the UFC compared to just three for Kowalkiewicz, who made her UFC debut last December.
Middleweight champion Michael Bisping (30-7) has waited more than seven years for this moment—the opportunity to defeat Dan Henderson (32-14) on his own turf at the Manchester Arena in a rematch Saturday night at UFC 204.
Bisping lost the first f…
Middleweight champion Michael Bisping (30-7) has waited more than seven years for this moment—the opportunity to defeat Dan Henderson (32-14) on his own turf at the Manchester Arena in a rematch Saturday night at UFC 204.
Bisping lost the first fight to Henderson by a brutal first-round knockout at UFC 100 back in July 2009. He will now be going for his fifth straight victory when he defends his title for the first time as a -235 betting favorite (wager $235 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.
Bisping stunned former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold by first-round KO at UFC 199 on June 4 in Los Angeles to earn the chance to fight across the pond in his home country of England, where he has never lost (17-0).
The 37-year-old Brit, who won the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter as a light heavyweight a decade ago, has certainly come a long way and evolved into one of the most well-rounded and experienced fighters in the organization. In his last fight in England, he earned a unanimous-decision victory against another former champ in Anderson Silva on February 27.
Meanwhile, the 46-year-old Henderson is a +185 underdog (bet $100 to win $185) on the UFC betting lines and has seen his MMA career wind down lately, stating in July that this will be his last bout inside the Octagon, per the Talking Brawls podcast (via Severe MMA).
A former Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling for the United States and three-time NCAA champion in that sport, Hendo has gone just 3-6 in his last nine bouts. However, he stunned Hector Lombard with a second-round KO via head kick and elbows on the same UFC 199 card that saw Bisping win the title, prompting the rematch.
In the co-main event, Brazilian VitorBelfort (25-12) will try to avoid his third loss in four fights when he takes on Dutch kickboxerGegardMousasi (39-6-2). The 31-year-old Mousasi also holds a black belt in judo and is listed as a heavy -335 favorite against Belfort, who is a +255 underdog and clearly not the same fighter he once was.
The 39-year-old Belfort posted three straight wins over Bisping, Rockhold and Henderson before dropping two of three, which has coincided with him no longer being able to use testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) since it was banned in 2014. Mousasi has won four of five, including a first-round TKO of Henderson in early 2015.
After Stipe Miocic (15-2) went to Brazil and took the heavyweight title belt away from Fabricio Werdum on his home turf, the Cleveland native and new champion will try to avoid the same fate when he takes on Alistair Overeem (41-14, one no-contest) at …
After Stipe Miocic (15-2) went to Brazil and took the heavyweight title belt away from Fabricio Werdum on his home turf, the Cleveland native and new champion will try to avoid the same fate when he takes on Alistair Overeem (41-14, one no-contest) at Quicken Loans Arena on Saturday night at UFC 203.
Miocic is listed as a -145 favorite (bet $145 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark for his first title defense.
Defending the belt has not been easy recently for the UFC heavyweight champ, as Werdum lost it in his first fight after unifying the titles with a third-round guillotine-choke submission of Cain Velasquez at UFC 188 on June 13, 2015.
Miocic knocked Werdum out two minutes and 47 seconds into the first round at UFC 198 on May 14 to run his winning streak to three since his last loss to Junior dos Santos via unanimous decision two years ago.
Overeem is a +115 underdog on the UFC 203 betting lines and has earned the title shot vs. Miocic by winning four bouts in a row, with three of them ending by way of knockout. He scored a second-round TKO of Dos Santos, another former heavyweight champ, last December 19, before the same result happened against Andrei Arlovski in the main event of UFC Fight Night 87 on May 8. Of his 41 wins, 37 have been finishes.
Before the main event, Werdum (20-6-1) will try to rebound from his loss to Miocic when he fights Travis Browne (18-4-1) as solid -225 chalk at the sportsbooks. The specialist in Brazilian jiu-jitsu saw his six-bout winning streak end with the loss, and four of his previous five victories were stoppages. He was originally scheduled to battle Ben Rothwell here, but a knee injury for his opponent forced him to withdraw on August 11.
Browne is a +175 dog and also hopes to bounce back from a brutal first-round KO suffered at the hands of Velasquez at UFC 200 on July 9. The 6’7″ Hawaiian is just 2-3 in his past five fights after rising near the top of the heavyweight rankings at the end of 2013.
At that time, he had won three consecutive bouts via first-round KO over the likes of Overeem, Josh Barnett and Gabriel Gonzaga before losing by unanimous decision to Werdum in a title-eliminator matchup. Werdum went on to win the interim title vs. Mark Hunt.
Robbie Lawler (20-10) and Tyron Woodley (15-3) are two former Strikeforce fighters who have hit it big in the UFC.
On Saturday night at UFC 201 in Atlanta, the reigning champion Lawler will attempt to successfully defend his welterweight championship b…
Robbie Lawler (20-10) and TyronWoodley (15-3) are two former Strikeforce fighters who have hit it big in the UFC.
On Saturday night at UFC 201 in Atlanta, the reigning champion Lawler will attempt to successfully defend his welterweight championship belt for the third time as a solid -210 favorite (bet $210 to win $100) against Woodley at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.
Woodley is listed as a +170 underdog (bet $100 to win $170) on the UFC 201 betting lines and has had a long layoff despite not suffering any injuries since his last fight in January 2015. He was originally scheduled to face former welterweight champ Johny Hendricks at UFC 192 last October 3, but his opponent experienced serious issues with weight-cutting and had to pull out of the bout.
Woodley has won two in a row and four of five, with the lone loss happening two years ago at UFC 174 vs. Rory MacDonald via unanimous decision.
Lawler later fought MacDonald at UFC 189 last July 11 and scored a fifth-round TKO against him for his first title defense. He followed that up with a controversial split-decision win over Carlos Condit on January 2. Three of his past four wins have come by decision, with two of them seeing the judges split on the result.
Lawler’s last loss came via unanimous decision in favor of Hendricks for the vacant welterweight title belt at UFC 171 on March 15, 2014. Four of his previous six bouts have won Fight of the Night bonuses.
Flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson was supposed to face Wilson Reis in the co-main event but had to withdraw due to an undisclosed injury. Reis has remained on the UFC 201 card, though, and will be taking on Hector Sandoval as a heavy -300 favorite on the UFC odds, per Odds Shark.
The new co-main event is a women’s strawweight matchup between third-ranked Rose Namajunas (5-2) and fifth-ranked Karolina Kowalkiewicz (9-0). Despite having four fewer wins, Namajunas has more experience inside the Octagon as a former competitor on The Ultimate Fighter 20. She is a big -260 favorite, per Odds Shark, riding a three-bout winning streak, with Kowalkiewicz a +200 underdog.
Meanwhile, Kowalkiewicz is 2-0 in the UFC, and six of her previous seven fights took place in her home country of Poland.
Max Holloway has long been a prized prospect in the UFC, and the No. 2 featherweight contender can finally realize his dream of becoming a champion when he battles former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis for the interim 145-pound title at UFC 206 this Saturday in Toronto.