Max Holloway
Age: 26
Nationality: American
MMA Record: 19-3
UFC Record: 15-3
Notable Wins: Jose Aldo, Ricardo Lamas, Cub Swanson, Jeremy Stephens, Anthony Pettis
Notable Losses: Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Dennis Bermudez
Last Fight: TKO win over Jose Aldo
Fighter Profile: The UFC featherweight champion, Holloway is one of the most impressive pound-for-pound MMA fighters in the game today. He is extremely well-rounded with excellent striking on the feet to go along with a slick submission game on the ground and the wrestling ability needed to dictate where the fight takes palce. He has impeccable cardio, a great chin, and he has tons of championship experience against the best fighters in the world at 145lbs. Holloway has lost before, but it was much earlier in his UFC career and he’s cleaned up many of the holes in his game. Right now, he looks like he’s unbeatable and he looks like he should be able to hang onto and defend the UFC featherweight title for a long time to come. He’s just a very special talent.
Brian Ortega
Age: 27
Nationality: American
MMA Record: 14-0, 1 NC
UFC Record: 6-0, 1 NC
Notable Wins: Frankie Edgar, Cub Swanson, Renato Moicano
Notable Losses: None
Last Fight: KO win over Frankie Edgar
Fighter Profile: One of the top young fighters in the game today, Ortega has looked incredible in the UFC as all of his wins have come by finish, including a brutal KO over Edgar in his last fight that guaranteed him a title shot. Ortega is mostly known for his submissions and he definitely has one of the best ground games in the business so it was nice to see him show another aspect to his game in the Edgar fight. He’s also shown numerous times in the UFC that he can take fights into deep waters and win them. That being said, Holloway is the best fighter he’s fought to date and this isn’t going to be an easy fight by any means. Ortega will have to dig down deep if he wants to come away with the win in this fight, and it’s going to be exciting to see if he can pull it off.
Fight Breakdown: This should be an amazing fight for the UFC featherweight title. Both guys have looked amazing in the UFC and both guys are very well-rounded fighters with few flaws in their games. That being said, I have to go with Holloway to defend his belt. The guy has just looked unstoppable in the last few years and although I believe Ortega is his toughest challenge to date I still think Holloway has all the tools to get another title defense here. Even though Ortega knocked out Edgar, I still feel like Holloway is the better striker in this fight and he should have the takedown defense to keep the fight on the feet. I think Holloway keeps the fight with Ortega on the feet and outstrikes him to win a decision and once again defend the UFC featherweight championship.
Prediction: Max Holloway via decision
