Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Holloway stops Pettis for UFC interim title
Third-round TKO settles main event of card in Toronto
Max Holloway unleashed a barrage of punches late in the third round and stopped Anthony Pettis to capture the interim featherweight title in the main event of UFC 206 on Saturday night in Toronto.
Pettis, the former lightweight champion, tried to cover up with his back against the cage, but couldn’t withstand the onslaught and it was stopped at 4:50.
It was the 10th straight win by Holloway, who challenged featherweight champion Jose Aldo for a unification bout at UFC 208 in Brooklyn, New York, on Feb. 11.
“Meet me in Brooklyn in February,” Holloway screamed into a microphone after his victory. “Let’s get the real (belt).”
In the co-main event, veteran Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone improved to 4-0 since moving up to welterweight in February with a third-round knockout of Matt Brown.
Cerrone caught Brown leaning forward by going high with a left head kick and the fight was stopped before Cerrone could follow up.
“It just came natural,” Cerrone said of the kick. “We work hard on my striking. It’s just a lot of fun. I love this (expletive).”
Brown had never been knocked out in 34 career fights, but it has happened in two straight bouts.
In one of the best fights of the year, Cub Swanson outlasted phenom Dooho Choi in a featherweight slugfest in which both fighters were in danger of being finished on several occasions.
Choi had won 13 straight fights, including first-round knockouts in each of his first three UFC bouts.
“It was such a good fight,” Swanson said. “I was exhausted, but there was no way I was going to quit.”
Kelvin Gastelum finished veteran middleweight Tim Kennedy in the third round with a series of solid left hands after peppering him with jabs and hooks.
Both fighters had been scheduled to fight different opponents at UFC 205 in New York last month. Kennedy’s bout with Rashad Evans was scrapped when Evans wasn’t cleared medically by the state commission. Gastelum failed to appear at weighins as he knew he couldn’t make the limit, so his fight with Cerrone was canceled.
It was the third time Gastelum had trouble cutting weight, and UFC president Dana White said he won’t be allowed to fight at welterweight any more in the UFC.
“It’s been a rough month,” Gastelum said. “I’m not going to lie. I definitely felt like my back was against the wall. I proved I can overcome big obstacles. I want to get back in the good graces of the UFC and hopefully that helps with that.”
Gastelum looked comfortable at 185 pounds, but insisted after the fight he wants to go back to 170 for his next fight.
“I don’t care if I have to show up at Dana’s house weighing 170 pounds,” he said.
Emil Meek made a successful UFC debut to begin the main card, gaining a unanimous decision over Jordan Mein in a welterweight bout.
Misha Cirkunov and Lando Vannata highlighted the preliminary card with spectacular victories.
Cirkunov won his eighth straight fight and improved to 4-0 with four stoppage victories in the UFC with a first-round submission of light heavyweight Nikita Krylov. After dropping Krylov with a crushing left hook, Cirkunov locked in a guillotine and finished the fight in the closing seconds of the round.
“I’m just happy,” Cirkunov said. “MMA is my religion. It means the whole world to me. I’m on the verge of crying. I’m the only one who knew this was going to happen.”
Vannata knocked out lightweight John Makdessi with a spinning wheel kick 1:40 into the opening round.
“I practiced that kick about 2,000 times in camp and I knew it was going to work,” Vannata said. “I was planning on using it and I knew he couldn’t stop it. I expected it to be successful. I’m ready for whoever they want to give me next.”
The win was redemption for Vannata, who gave top-ranked contender Tony Ferguson all he could handle in his short-notice UFC debut in July before succumbing to a submission.
Also on the preliminary card, Olivier Aubin-Mercier submitted Drew Dober with a rear-naked choke midway through the second round. Aubin-Mercier was dropped by a left hand early in the round, but maneuvered himself into top position before taking Dober’s back and finishing the fight.
Former women’s strawweight title challenger Valerie Letourneau lost a split decision to newcomer Viviane Pereira. It was the third straight defeat for Letourneau, who dominated the first round before coasting through much of the last 10 minutes and coming up short on the scorecards.
Matthew Lopez and Rustam Khabilov each earned unanimous decisions, and flyweight Dustin Ortiz took a split decision over Zach Makovsky.