Holloway new undisputed UFC featherweight champ
THE 145-pound division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has a new undisputed king after American Max “Blessed” Holloway defeated Brazilian legend and champion Jose Aldo by technical knockout (punches) in the third round of their unification bout at “UFC 212” in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, yesterday.
Entering the contest as interim champion, Mr. Holloway showed patience and in the end killer instinct to dethrone champion Aldo in front of the latter’s hometown fans to thrust himself to the summit of the 145-lb division.
Earlier in the UFC event, Claudia Gadelha of Brazil made short work of Karolina Kowalkiewicz of Poland in their women’s strawweight encounter with a first-round submission by rear-naked choke. The main event started with some feelingout period between the p r ot ag o n i s t s before going after each other.
M r . Holloway connected with body shots early but Mr. Aldo would eventually find some groove to finish the opening round, punctuated by a series of punches, knee and solid hook that rocked Mr. Holloway.
In the second round, Mr. Holloway showed more movement and midway hurt Mr. Aldo with quick combinations.
However, much like the first round, Mr. Aldo would find his footing and finish strong with a solid right and jabs to establish some control as the bell rang.
The third round had the two fighters having a spirited exchange in the middle of the Octagon to the delight of the crowd.
Mr. Holloway landed a clear left to the face of Mr. Aldo then followed it up with a solid right that instantly sent the Brazilian to the canvas.
Sensing that momentum was on his side, Mr. Holloway pounded on Mr. Aldo who tried desperately to fend for himself.
The Hawaiian fighter got at the back of Mr. Aldo going for a choke but instead found openings to throw a series punches from which the Brazilian could not recover from, prompting referee John McCarthy to stop the fight at the 4:13 mark of the round.
The win notched for Mr. Holloway (18-3) the undisputed UFC featherweight title and extended his impressive winning streak to 11 straight.
“I’ve been telling you guys, this is ‘Blessed’ era. I would like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and my team for without them I cannot do this. We have another gold!” said Mr. Holloway after his breakthrough win.
With the defeat, Mr. Aldo dropped to 26-3 and has lost two in his last three fights.
GADELHA WINS
Meanwhile, in the co-main event it was all Ms. Gadelha as she becomes the first fighter to finish Ms. Kowalkiewicz in a fight.
After a series of exchanges and clinch action, Ms. Gadelha went for the finish when she had Ms. Kowalkiewicz’s back, going for a rear-naked choke that had her opponent tapping out no sooner at 3:03 mark of the opening round.
Ms. Gadelha padded her record to 15-2 after the victory while Ms. Kowalkiewicz slumped to 10-2 and her second straight defeat, and first career loss by submission.
In other fights in the main card, middleweight and Brazilian legend Vitor Belfort won by unanimous decision over Nate Marquardt ( 29- 28, 29- 28 and 29- 28), middleweight Paulo Borrachinha defeated Oluwale Bamgbose by way of TKO (punches) in the second round, and welterweight Yancy Medeiros beat Erick Silva by TKO (punches) in the second round.
Next for the UFC is “UFC Fight Night 112” on June 11 (Manila time) in Auckland, New Zealand, that will be headlined by the heavyweight battle between Derrick Lewis (#6) and Mark Hunt (#7). In the Philippines, Cignal TV, the country’s foremost direct- tohome (DTH) company, is the home of the UFC after the two groups agreed to an extensive deal that will see the UFC beamed on various platforms.