The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada tonight for UFC 206: “Holloway vs Pettis.” The event was headlined by a UFC Interim Featherweight Championship bout between Max “Blessed” Holloway and Anthony “Showtime” Pettis.
In the welterweight co-feature, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone took on Matt “The Immortal” Brown. Cub Swanson faced “The Korean Superboy” Doo Ho Choi at featherweight, and Tim Kennedy met Kelvin Gastelum at middleweight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s UFC 206 main card.
UFC Interim Featherweight Championship
Max “Blessed” Holloway vs Anthony “Showtime” Pettis
Round 1:
Quick kicks were exchanged in the opening two minutes and Holloway landed a right hook to the body. Pettis responded with a spinning back kick to the liver and a series of side kicks. Hard right hands landed for both men and Holloway mixed in one-twos. Pettis kicked to the body again and Holloway countered with jabs. Pettis threw more punch-kick combos and Holloway answered back with a flurry. He fought off a late takedown attempt with a standing guillotine choke. Close round. 10-9 Holloway.
Round 2:
Holloway dropped Pettis with a right cross in the early stages of round two, but Pettis recovered immediately and stood back up. Holloway flurried in close and Pettis attempted a cartwheel kick. Holloway landed a crisp combination and Pettis’s damaged right eye continued to swell up. Holloway threw punches and Pettis answered with a variety of kicks to the body. Pettis clinched and Holloway used knees to fight off takedown attempts. 10-9 Holloway.
Round 3:
Time was called early in round three after Pettis was inadvertently kicked in the groin. Action resumed and both men landed head kicks and left hooks. Holloway flurried to the body and swept out Pettis’s back leg. He allowed Pettis to stand and fought off a clinch by landing punches to Pettis’s body. Pettis countered a combination from Holloway with a series of stiff jabs. Holloway tripped him again and worked from the top in side control. Pettis stood and Holloway landed spinning back kicks to the body. He hurt Pettis with body shots and unloaded with punches as Pettis turtled against the fence, forcing an end to the fight.
Winner: Max Holloway by TKO (Punches) at 4:50 of round three. He improves to 17-3-0 and becomes the UFC Interim Featherweight Champion.
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone vs Matt “The Immortal” Brown
Round 1:
Cerrone targeted the body with kicks early on and he hurt him with a head kick and punches. Brown recovered and landed lead left hooks that were met by leg kicks and jabs from Cerrone. The fighters traded left hooks and Cerrone landed another head kick. Cerrone mixed things up with kick-punch combos, but he ate some hard punches from Brown in return. Brown slipped while throwing a kick, but he trapped Cerrone in a triangle choke on the ground. Cerrone pulled his head out and the fighters stood up. One more head kick landed for Cerrone, but Brown knocked him down with a right hand at the bell. 10-9 Cerrone.
Round 2:
The second round began with Cerrone landing a grazing head kick that was answered by a knee to the body from Brown. Another head kick landed for Cerrone, but Brown dropped him with a right hand. Cerrone stood and Brown landed more power punches. Cerrone dropped him with a head kick and a right cross, but Brown recovered and stood up. Cerrone backed Brown up with punches and both men threw head kicks. Brown was stunned by a jab and Cerrone pressed forward with a combination. Brown landed standing elbows and Cerrone scored with a head kick late in the round. 10-9 Cerrone.
Round 3:
Brown fought through a knee from Cerrone and took him down for a split second in the final round. Back on the feet, Cerrone landed a flurry of punches and a vicious head kick that sent an unconscious Brown crashing to the mat.
Winner: Donald Cerrone by KO (Head Kick) at 0:34 of round three. He improves to 32-7-0, 1 NC.
Cub Swanson vs “The Korean Superboy” Doo Ho Choi
Round 1:
Choi attacked with a right hand and a series of knees right away in round one. Swanson fired back with an overhand rightand the fighters exchanged looping hooks. Swanson mixed in kicks and ate a series of right hands for his efforts. He landed one of his own, but Choi scored with an uppercut and clinched against the fence. Both men landed knees and Choi tripped Swanson to his knees. Swanson stood and landed a kick-punch combo. Choi backed Swanson up with one-twos, but Swanson countered with a body kick and an overhand right. Choi finished the close round with a knee to the body. 10-9 Choi.
Round 2:
Big power punches landed for both men early in the second round and Swanson rocked Choi with looping hooks. Choi was badly hurt, but he recovered and teed off with punches that stunned Swanson. More huge punches landed to the head and body for Choi, and Swanson wilted against the cage. Choi continued to throw punches until Swanson clinched and took him down. Choi scrambled up and both men landed haymakers. Swanson connected with a cartwheel kick and Choi answered with a head kick. Swanson hurt Choi with a barrage of punches and a spinning backfist, but Choi stayed on his feet and landed knees before the bell. 10-9 Swanson.
Round 3:
The final round began with an exchange of kicks and Swanson scored with an overhand right. Choi stunned him with a one-two and shrugged off a clinch attempt. He took Swanson’s back and muscled him down to the mat. Swanson turned into Choi’s guard and worked from the top. The fight returned to the feet and Swanson unloaded with huge bombs that forced Choi to retreat to the cage. Swanson threw Choi to the mat and Choi quickly stood back up. The fighters traded big right hands and stiff jabs. Swanson landed a left-right combo and a head kick. He dropped Choi with punches, but could not finish him before the bell. 10-9 Swanson.
Winner: Cub Swanson by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 24-7-0.
Kelvin Gastelum vs Tim Kennedy
Round 1:
Kennedy kicked to the body and kept his distance early in the opening round. He took Gastelum down against the cage and threw knees to the thighs on the way up. Kennedy got Gastelum down again and nearly mounted him, then worked for rear-naked chokes from back control. Gastelum stood and Kennedy landed more knees to the legs and body. Gastelum eventually broke free and he landed a hard left hand. The fighters traded left hooks and Kennedy tried to initiate a clinch. Gastelum broke free, but Kennedy landed right hands and body kicks. Gastelum rocked him with hooks before the bell. 10-9 Kennedy, barely.
Round 2:
Gastelum stuffed a takedown and pulled a fatigued Kennedy down to the mat in round two. Kennedy escaped to his feet and took Gastelum’s back against the cage. Gastelum turned into the clinch and flurried with hard punches. The fighters exchanged body kicks and Gastelum fought off a takedown attempt. He landed an uppercut and a left cross, but Kennedy clinched and took him down. Gastelum rolled through and took top position while pinning Kennedy against the base of the cage. Kennedy stood and Gastelum landed knees to the midsection. He cracked Kennedy with left hands late in the round. 10-9 Gastelum.
Round 3:
Gastelum blasted Kennedy with punches in the final round and he followed with a head kick. Kennedy retreated after eating a jab and Gastelum swarmed on him with kicks and punches. An exhausted Kennedy landed a lunging one-two, but Gastelum was unfazed and he continued to pick Kennedy apart with jabs. Gastelum landed four final punches that dropped Kennedy to his knees and the fight was stopped.
Winner: Kelvin Gastelum by TKO (Punches) at 2:45 of round three. He improves to 13-2-0.
Emil “Valhalla” Weber Meek vs Jordan “Young Gun” Mein
Round 1:
Mein opened the action with kicks and a brief takedown, but Meek returned to his feet and he landed a hard leg kick. Mein secured another takedown and he fought off a guillotine choke by landing knees to the body from side control. He transitioned to North-South position and continued to throw knees. The fighters stood and Meek landed two big combinations. He followed with knees and Mein fired back with left and right hooks. He took Meek down and Meek appeared to suffer a rib injury on the way down. Back on the feet, Mein landed a big combination, but Meek wobbled him with a counter one-two. Mein smiled and the entertaining round ended in a clinch. 10-9 Mein.
Round 2:
The fighters traded cautious punches and leg kicks in round two until Meek flurried against the cage. He took Mein down and struck from the top. Meek passed to half-guard and looked to set up an arm-triangle choke. Mein defended, but Meek continued to pepper him with short strikes from the top. He tried for a second arm-triangle choke and landed more ground and pound. Mein ate punches and elbows until the end of the round. 10-9 Meek.
Round 3:
Meek kept Mein on the defensive in the final round and he backed him up against the cage with punches. Meek landed knees to the body and Mein replied with a one-two. Meek took him down and threw short punches and elbows from Mein’s half-guard. Mein made no effort to try to scramble back to his feet and Meek landed numerous left hands to the face in the final minute. Mein attacked with a last-ditch kimura attempt very late in the fight. 10-9 Meek.
Winner: Emil Weber Meek by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 9-2-1, 1 NC.
Undercard Fights:
– Misha Cirkunov defeated Nikita “The Miner” Krylov by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:38 of round one. He improves to 13-2-0 with the win.
– Olivier “The Québec Kid” Aubin-Mercier defeated Drew Dober by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:57 of round two. He improves to 9-2-0 with the win.
– Viviane “Sucuri” Pereira defeated Valérie “Trouble” Létourneau by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. She improves to 12-0-0 with the win.
– Matthew Lopez defeated Mitch Gagnon by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 9-1-0 with the win.
– “Groovy” Lando Vannata defeated John “The Bull” Makdessi by KO (Spinning Wheel Kick) at 1:40 of round one. He improves to 9-1-0 with the win.
– Rustam “Tiger” Khabilov defeated Jason Saggo by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 21-3-0 with the win.
– Dustin Ortiz defeated Zach “Fun Size” Makovsky by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 16-6-0 with the win.