UFC Fight Night 74: Holloway vs. Oliveira Date: August 23, 2015 Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada Venue: SaskTel Centre Broadcast: FS1 UFC Featherweight Contender Max Holloway One of the youngest and most talented fighters in the UFC, Max Holloway (13-3) is quickly emerging as a top contender in the UFC featherweight division. He’s been fighting in the UFC since he was 20 years old and already has racked up nine wins in the Octagon, including a career-defining submission win over Cub Swanson in his last outing. He has won six in a row overall and is quickly emerging as a title contender in his weight class. With his mix on kickboxing excellence on the feet and submission ability on the mat, Holloway is a dangerous out for basically everyone in the division. And the scary thing is, he’s only getting better. He is getting a step up for his next fight when he takes on Charles Oliveira in his first-ever UFC main event at UFC Fight Night 74. UFC Featherweight Contender Charles Oliveira Charles Oliveira (20-4, 1 NC) is one of the brightest young stars in the sport today. Despite being only 25 years old, Oliveira already has 13 fights inside the UFC, including eight victories. He is one of the best BJJ players in the game today and is a threat anytime the fight hits the mat. He has been inconsistent in the UFC and some have questioned his toughness at times, but over his last four fights has really turned a page, winning three of them by submission and showing improved striking in the fights. For Oliveira’s next test, he gets the chance to take on Max Holloway in the main event of UFC Fight Night 74, his very first headlining act in the UFC. Opening UFC Fight Night 74 Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Holloway a -165 favorite (bet $165 to win $100) while Oliveira opened as a +125 underdog (bet $100 to win $125) at Several Bookmakers. This is going to be an epic matchup between two of the most exciting young featherweights in the UFC. Holloway is coming off of a career-defining win over Cub Swanson and outside of a loss to Conor McGregor he’s looked like a real contender as of late, winning his last six fights in a row. As for Oliveira, he’s coming off of four-straight wins, most recently defeating Nik Lentz in a Performance of the Night-winning outing. Both men are extremely good fighters and both are improving. Holloway does have the edge on the feet, so he enters this fight as the favorite, but Oliveira’s ground game is incredible and his striking has really evolved too, making for a competitive fight that truly could go either way when these two throw down this summer.
