Max “Blessed” Holloway is the UFC Interim Featherweight Champion. The Hawaiian captured the belt moments ago, scoring a third round TKO victory over former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis.
Holloway and Pettis came out in the first round, and traded kicks and punches, with both men having success. Pettis was using movement well and looked the best he has in quite some time, but midway through the first frame, Holloway started to find his rhythm, and was landing shots. After a close five minutes, I scored the first round to Holloway, putting him 10-9 up.
The second round was slightly different. Holloway looked a lot fresher, and Pettis had swelling under his right eye, along with a small cut. It’s also worth noting Pettis told his corner he had broken his hand during the break after the first. It was evident “Showtime” wasn’t throwing that right hand and his offensive output all together had slowed. He did throw the occasional kick, mainly going to the legs. It seemed the eye, and the hand were troubling Pettis, and Holloway walked away with round 2 in the bag.
Round 3 started, and Holloway continued to grow, Pettis was not only refraining from throwing his right hand, but he weren’t throwing much at all. It was Holloway who controlled the round and it looked like the 25-year-old was going to breeze to a wide decision, but he weren’t satisfied with that. A hard combination backed Pettis up, then Holloway landed a body kick and a right hand which pushed Pettis back to the cage. Pettis bent over and covered up, he was visibly hurt. Holloway started pounding away, landing shot after shot. After a few seconds of the barrage, Pettis dropped to the ground and turtled up, subsequently forcing Yves Lavigne to step in and stop the fight.
In his post fight interview, Pettis confirmed he had broken his hand, and said the weight cut to get down to 145lbs was too dangerous for his body, and he would be returning to lightweight, where he was previously the titleholder.
The win, which is Holloway’s tenth straight, extends his record to 17-3 and will likely earn him a shot at the UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. Pettis, who was finished for the first time in his career tonight, drops to 19-6.
