LOS ANGELES • Featherweight Max Holloway starred in one of the most lopsided main events in UFC history, as the 145lb (65.8kg) fighter delivered a record-setting beatdown of Calvin Kattar at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
The 29-year-old landed a UFC-record 445 significant strikes, smashing the previous mark of 290 he set against Brian Ortega at UFC 231. Along with Kattar's career-best 133 significant strikes, the fight also set UFC records for combined significant strikes (578) and significant strike differential (312), according to the organisation's statistics.
"He took everything - the kitchen sink, a fire truck, an ambulance. I threw everything at him," Holloway said of his fellow American. "I probably threw my mouthpiece at him at one point in there."
Holloway, who is ranked second in the world, dominated sixth-ranked Kattar via unanimous decision (50-43, 50-43, 50-42).
The former UFC featherweight champion could be in line for a title shot against welterweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who has beaten him in two close bouts, according to UFC president Dana White.
The scorecards equalled the most lopsided in a five-round fight in UFC history, along with a bout between Rich Franklin and David Loiseau at UFC 58 in 2006.
The 50-42 score was only the second in UFC history after Franklin-Loiseau.
Holloway improved to 18-6 in UFC and 22-6 overall, while Kattar fell to 6-3 in the UFC and 22-5 across all organisations.
"If you ain't a Max Holloway fan, you're a hater," Kattar, 32, said. "Kid's a beast. Did what he had to do. Good luck to him, and hopefully the champ next, because he deserves another shot."
In the co-main event, welterweight Carlos Condit improved to 32-13 with a unanimous decision over Matt Brown (24-18).
Condit landed 157 total strikes compared with 37 for Brown. Condit landed 39 of 88 significant strikes, while Brown connected on 28 of 37.
Condit won with scores of 30-27 across the judges' scorecards, improving his mark to 9-9 in UFC and 32-13 overall. Brown fell to 15-12 in UFC and 22-18 overall.
REUTERS
