For the 24th time in his illustrious career Waianae’s Max Holloway (21-6 MMA, 17-6 UFC) will make the walk into the octagon this Saturday in the main event of the UFC on ABC 1 card against Calvin Kattar (22-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in Abu Dhabi.
Holloway, who is coming off of back-to-back controversial decision losses to current featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski can quickly find himself back into the title picture with a win over the rising star from Boston. The anticipated showdown which will serve as the UFC’s debut on the ABC Network will be Holloway’s first non-title fight since defeating Ricardo Lamas in the summer of 2016 in Los Angeles, California.
“I’m going to carry myself as a champion, belt or no belt. We’re going to go out there and fight. I love fighting. I don’t know what else to say, I love to fight. People will say it’s hard to get up, I’m still fighting five, I feel like championship rounds,” said Holloway. “We’re on ABC. I know there are a bunch of fighters that would kill to be in this position so at the end of the day it still feels the same. A fight is a fight to me and I can’t wait.”
HOLLOWAY VS. KATTAR NOTES:
Max Holloway (21-6, fighting out of Waianae, Hawaii) aims to cement himself as the clear No. 1 contender by becoming the first person to stop Kattar in the UFC.
- Former featherweight champion
- No. 1 ranked contender and No. 8 men’s pound-for-pound fighter
- 10 wins by KO, two via submission
- Was unbeaten at 145 pounds from 2014-2019
- Has won 14 of last 17 bouts
- Holds spectacular wins over Jose Aldo (twice), Brian Ortega and Frankie Edgar
Calvin Kattar (22-4, fighting out of Methuen, Mass.) aims to prove that he is one of the best in the world against his first former champion.
- No. 6 ranked UFC featherweight contender
- 11 wins by KO, two via submission
- 10 first-round finishes
- Has won 14 of last 16 bouts
- Holds KO victories over Shane Burgos, Ricardo Lamas and Jeremy Stephens
FULL FIGHT CARD:
MAIN CARD (ABC & ESPN+, 10:00 AM HST)
Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar
Matt Brown vs. Carlos Condit
Li Jingliang vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
Joaquin Buckley vs. Alessio Di Chirico
Punahele Soriano vs. Dusko Todorovic
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 7:00am HST)
Phil Hawes vs. Nassourdine Imavov
Joselyne Edwards vs. Wu Yanan
Omari Akhmedov vs. Tom Breese
Carlos Felipe vs. Justin Tafa
Ramazan Emeev vs. David Zawada
Vanessa Melo vs. Sarah Moras
Jacob Kilburn vs. Austin Lingo
Gaetano Pirrello vs. Ricky Simon