Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway went up against Calvin Kattar in the main event of UFC Fight Island 7.
Both fighters opened cautiously, with Holloway throwing a couple of jabs and Kattar responding with a leg kick. By the end of the first minute, though, Holloway had picked up the pace, pushing Kattar back and controlling the center of the Octagon. Holloway stayed aggressive and landed a few big hits on Kattar, forcing him to protect himself. Kattar’s attempts to beat Holloway back were met with a big spinning back kick that threw Kattar against the cage. Though Kattar managed to get a few hits on Holloway, the latter was clearly dominant as the first round ended.
Holloway stayed relentless in the second round, knocking Kattar down with a punch and following it up with punches and a knee as Kattar got back up to his feet. Kattar threw a kick at Holloway and was caught, and Holloway was able to knock him off balance. From there, Holloway was nonstop, catching Kattar with a few big punches and following up with a downpour of strikes, forcing Kattar to focus on defense as he was driven against the cage. Though he managed to punch his way out of danger temporarily and clinch up with Holloway, Holloway finished the round strong with a big head kick.
? “Start training on zoom!”@DC_MMA is impressed by @BlessedMMA through 2ï¸âƒ£ #UFCFightIsland7 pic.twitter.com/K2Z63C4C45
— UFC (@ufc) January 16, 2021
In round three, Holloway delivered more of the same, but Kattar managed to get in a few big punches that seemed to at least momentarily stagger Holloway. Kattar went for a takedown but was shut down by Holloway, who came back with more big combos. Kattar’s carefully timed punches and elbows knocked Holloway a few times, but the round ended very clearly in Holloway’s favor.
He’s feeling himself ?
— UFC (@ufc) January 16, 2021
? @BlessedMMA showing no signs of slowing down! #UFCFightIsland7 pic.twitter.com/dEbDYdxOEE
Kattar was still on his feet and fighting in round four, but Holloway also wasn’t slowing down. He forced Kattar against the cage and mercilessly battered him, and it looked like Kattar was surely going to be finished off, but instead, he fired back. Though Kattar was wobbly on his feet, he managed to escape from his spot pinned against the cage and throw enough punches to keep him in the fight. Holloway threw a head kick in the last few seconds in the round, but miraculously, Kattar stayed up for the fifth round.
Holloway kept going and going in round five, delivering punch after punch to a bloodied Katter. Though Kattar did manage to keep moving forward and deliver some hits of his own, none of them seemed to even rattle Holloway. As the fight began to draw to a close, Holloway turned his attention to the commentary team to proclaim his prowess and flexing at his opponent. The confidence was warranted, though, and Holloway finished the fight strong and took home the unanimous decision.
