UFC Fight Night Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar – Live updates and results

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The former feather king seeks a path to the crown. Max Holloway will face Calvin Kattar in a pivotal featherweight bout at the main UFC Fight Night event on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, UAE. It is the first UFC program of the year and the main card will be broadcast on ABC, the home of boxing for several decades.

The winner of this fight could be next in line to get a title opportunity. ESPN is ranked No. 2 in Holloway and No. 6 in the featherweight division in Kattar.

Holloway (21-6) has fallen two straight to current champion Alexander Volkanovski. Both fights were very close and many thought Holloway won second in UFC 251 in July. Holloway, 29, is the most decorated featherweight in UFC history. He held a 145-pound UFC title from 2016 to 2019. The Hawaiian native has more wins (16), more KO / TKO wins (8) and more stoppage wins (10) in the featherweight history of the UFC. UFC.

Kattar (22-4) has won two in a row and four of his last five. The Massachusetts native has four finishes in six UFC wins. Kattar, 32, gets a unanimous victory over Dan Ige last July.

In the main event, two of the most exciting wrestlers in UFC welterweight history: Carlos Condit and Matt Brown. Condit (31-13), a former UFC welterweight middleweight champion, won a five-game losing streak in his final bout, a win against Court McGee. Brown (22-17) got a two-fight winning streak in his last fight against Miguel Baeza.

Also on the card, welterweight candidate Santiago Ponzinibbio returns after more than two years away from home due to illness to face Li Jingliang, and knockout artist Joaquin Buckley meets Alessio Di Chirico in a welterweight combat.

A strong card will get you an extra boost of adrenaline as it will be allowed to fans at the Etihad Arena. The building has a capacity for 18,000 people, but only 2,000 fans can enter.

Fight in progress:

Women’s Gantam Weight: Wu Yanan (11-3, 1-2 UFC, -115) vs. Joselyne Edwards (9-2, 0-0 UFC, -105)

Results:

Heavyweight: Carlos Felipe (10-1, 2-1 UFC) vs. Justin Tafa (4-2, 1-2 UFC) by split decision

Recap to come.

Welterweight: Ramazan Emeev (20-4, 5-1 UFC) defeats David Zawada (17-6, 1-3 UFC) by split decision

Emeev had to deepen in round 3. Actually, the two men did.

After being overthrown and found himself in the full mounting position, Emeev managed to escape danger, reversing his position to climb to the top. And even after losing that position, the 33-year-old Russian returned to work with aggression and pressure, making the decision on the scorecards of two of the three judges for his ninth victory in his last ten fights.

The three scorers in the cage had the fight by 29-28.

Zawada also had something to overcome in the third round, and he almost did. He had been knocked down several times in the first two rounds and a right hand from Emeev right on the horn that ended the second round – or a fraction of a second after the horn – opened a cut in the left eye of the 30th. – one year German. He struggled most of the third round with blood dripping from his eyes, though he almost got the job by winning a dominant position.

Instead, it was the third defeat in his last four fights for Zawada, who has not competed since 2019.

– Wagenheim

Watch this fight on ESPN +.

Women’s Rooster Weight: Vanessa Melo (11-8, 1-3 UFC) defeats Sarah Moras (6-8, 3-6 UFC) by unanimous decision

For three rounds, Melo advanced by throwing punches. He ate a few times in the process, and not all the big hooks landed, but he did enough to win the victory.

Melo defeated Moras by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in a women’s heavyweight bout, the first UFC women’s bout of 2021.

The most significant strike came in the second round. Melo whipped a combination that culminated in a left shovel hook, which broke Moras in the nose. Moras’ mouth fell after the punch landed and his nose ended up bleeding. Moras had some success with punches and legs. But there was little doubt that Melo was landing the hardest blows throughout the fight.

Melo, 32, had a streak of three-fight defeats. The Brazilian got her first UFC victory. Moras, a 32-year-old Canadian, has left two in a row and five of her last six.

“I feel very happy and honored to get my first UFC win,” Melo said. “I can’t even explain how happy I am. I just want to keep evolving, train harder and keep growing.

“I’m honored to be here, it was an honor to be on the first Fight Island, an honor to be here with the fans for the first time: they’re not so many fans, but it’s beautiful, it’s a fresh start for the UFC and everyone.” .

– Raimondi

Watch this fight on ESPN +.

Men’s featherweight: Austin Lingo (8-1, 1-1 UFC) defeats Jacob Kilburn (8-4, 0-2 UFC) by unanimous decision

Lingo had not fought since his first defeat last February. But it didn’t take long for him to get back on track, dropping Kilburn in the first 30 seconds. But his job was not done yet.

After Kilburn got back on his feet, Lingo proceeded to stab him with sharp punctures, left hooks, and more right hands on the way to secure his head with the three dashboards.

Two judges scored the fight 30-26 and others had it 30-27.

Kilburn, in their first fight since 2019, didn’t make it easy, despite the uneven scorecards. The 25-year-old from Clarksville, Tennessee, tried the retreat after the retreat and as the fight continued, he seemed to be the coolest competitor. But he could not get out of Lingo’s punches and suffered his second consecutive defeat.

Lingo, 26, fighting outside of Dallas, had not competed since the unanimous loss of last February’s decision against Youssef Zalal.

– Wagenheim

Watch this fight without ESPN +.

Still to come:

Men’s Featherweight: Max Holloway (21-6, 17-6 UFC, -160) vs. Calvin Kattar (22-4, 6-2 UFC, +135)
Welterweight: Carlos Condit (31-13, 8-9 UFC, -170) vs. Matt Brown (24-17, 15-11 UFC, +145)
Welterweight: Santiago Ponzinibbio (28-3, 9-2 UFC, -310) vs. Li Jingliang (17-6, 9-4 UFC, +250)
Average weight: Joaquin Buckley (12-3, 2-1 UFC, -300) vs. Alessio Di Chirico (12-5, 3-5 UFC, +240)
Average weight: Punahele Soriano (7-0, 1-0 UFC, +135) vs. Dusko Todorovic (10-0, 1-0 UFC, -160)

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