UFC 206: Holloway vs Pettis Date: December 10, 2016 Arena: Air Canada Centre City: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Interim-Featherweight title bout: Max Holloway (-240) vs Anthony Pettis (+200) Fight Breakdown: The main event for UFC 206 in Toronto will see Max “Blessed” Holloway take on Anthony “Showtime” Pettis in a battle scheduled for five rounds. It will be for the UFC’s interim-featherweight title, but only Holloway will be fighting for the title, as Pettis missed weight by three pounds for the contest. Holloway is a -240 ($240 to win $100) betting favorite heading into the bout, with Pettis being a +200 ($100 to win $200) underdog at Several Bookmakerss. Max “Blessed” Holloway (16-4-1 NC MMA, 10-7 UFC) last saw action at UFC 199, where he scored a unanimous decision victory over Ricardo Lamas, making it nine straight wins for himself inside the Octagon heading into this interim-title opportunity. Holloway is a very talented striker who moves well on his feet. His footwork is excellent and he uses his range really well. He is good at moving in and out, and has fantastic striking technique. He likes to put all of his limbs to use, and puts together some great combinations on the feet. The Hawaiian, like most Islanders, is very durable and possesses a great chin. His submission game was rudimentary when he first entered the UFC but is now solid and a constant work in progress. He has become a very well rounded mixed martial artist, now owning submission victories over Andre Fili and Cub Swanson, respectively. The 25-year-old Holloway has great takedown defense, and when taken down, he is active off his back and does a good job of finding his way back to his feet. He is a well-conditioned athlete who will be ready for five hard rounds of action for the first time in his career, should this fight go the distance. Anthony “Showtime” Pettis (16-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) is coming off a third round guillotine choke submission win over Charles Oliveira and hopes to make it two straight with a win over top ranked featherweight Holloway. Pettis is an incredible striker with a flashy style which is he very effective with, being well known for his famous “kick heard around the world” AKA the “Showtime kick”, a kick-off-the-cage he landed on Benson Henderson in the final round of their first meeting in WEC. He is very versatile on the feet and likes to implement all of his limbs in his offensive striking attack. The 29-year-old favors his kicks the most and certainly has a variety of them in his striking arsenal; he throws some vicious head and body kicks and has recorded a pair of very impressive Octagon knockouts with them, including a first round head-kick knockout over Joe Lauzon and a first round body-kick knockout over Donald Cerrone, respectively. To compliment his skills on the feet, the Wisconsin native is equally brilliant on the mat, as he is a serious threat from both top and bottom positions. He has a great rubber guard and always remains active from the bottom. Training out of Roufosport in Milwaukee, WI and Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuquerque, NM, Pettis’ cardio will be something to keep an eye on heading into this contest. He always had a good gas tank at 155-pounds, but it did not look very good in his featherweight debut against Oliveira, a fight in which he had to dig deep to pull out the win. Gabe’s Thoughts: I liked Holloway in this match-up before Pettis missed weight by three pounds, and now I really like him. As long as he avoids getting caught with something, I think the Hawaiian should take this fight on the judges’ scorecards, making it 10 straight victories for himself inside the Octagon and becoming the UFC interim-featherweight champion. That said, although the interim-title is not on the line for Pettis, who missed weight, I believe the UFC will still give him the Aldo fight if he gets past Holloway. Gabe’s Call: Holloway by Unanimous Decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-47 Gabe’s Recommended Play: Max Holloway (-240) 3.6u to win 1.5u All of my content and plays are free. Your support is greatly appreciated. 
