The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates tonight for UFC on ABC 1: “Holloway vs Kattar.” The event was headlined by a featherweight contender’s bout between former champion Max “Blessed” Holloway and Calvin “The Boston Finisher” Kattar.
In the welterweight co-main event, “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit battled fellow veteran Matt “The Immortal” Brown. Elsewhere on the main card, Santiago “Gente Boa” Ponzinibbio squared off against Jingliang “The Leech” Li. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s UFC card.
Max “Blessed” Holloway vs Calvin “The Boston Finisher” Kattar
Round 1:
The fighters traded jabs and leg kicks in the opening minute and Holloway landed a quick one-two. He mixed up his punches to the body and head, then followed up on a leg kick with another flurry. Kattar backed up as Holloway attacked with more punches. Kattar connected with a pair of overhand rights and both men landed two-punch combos. Holloway landed a big right hook and he kept Kattar on the defensive with more combos. A right hook and three more punches landed for Holloway before the bell. 10-9 Holloway.
Round 2:
Holloway maintained a high pace with his striking in the second round and he landed jab-cross combos while ducking under many of Kattar’s counterpunches. Holloway continued to land combinations, but Kattar fired back with two leg kicks and a looping right hook. Holloway backed him up with punches and a knee to the body. Kattar began to bleed from near his right eye and Holloway continued to pressure him with punches. He rocked Kattar with a standing elbow and blasted him with three more as Kattar tried to recover against the cage. A big cut was opened on Kattar’s forehead and Holloway rocked him once more with a head kick late in the round. 10-8 Holloway. Total domination on the feet.
Round 3:
The third round began with Holloway once again controlling the boxing exchanges and he backed Kattar up against the cage. Kattar returned fire with an uppercut and a hard right hook, but Holloway was unfazed and he re-opened the cut on Kattar’s forehead with a combination punctuated by a left hook. A bloodied Kattar responded with an overhand right and a takedown attempt, but Holloway easily shrugged him off. As the round entered its final minute, Holloway remained aggressive with lead left hooks to the head and body, followed by right hands over the top. Holloway closed out the round with a five-punch combination. 10-9 Holloway.
Round 4:
Holloway pressured Kattar with combinations in the fourth round and Kattar replied with jabs and left hooks. Holloway hurt him with left hooks to the body and slashing elbow strikes over the top. He kept Kattar pinned against the cage and wobbled him with more punches and elbows. A wounded Kattar attacked with looping elbows of his own, but they did not slow Holloway down and Holloway’s assault to the body continued. Holloway landed a knee to the jaw and the fighters separated, which allowed Kattar to connect with a pair of overhand rights. Holloway ducked under a right hand from Kattar and cracked him with a head kick late in the round. 10-8 Holloway.
Round 5:
The final round was even on the feet until Holloway landed a hard right cross to the jaw of Kattar, who backed up as Holloway pressed forward with more punches. Kattar’s swollen face quickly became a bloody mess yet again and Holloway landed a spinning back kick to the body. He maintained a fast pace even as the round entered its final two minutes and continued to pick Kattar apart with combinations. Kattar responded with lead lefts and did his best to counter Holloway’s aggression, but Holloway landed two- and three-punch combos until the end of the action-packed fight. 10-9 Holloway.
Winner: Max Holloway by Unanimous Decision (50-43, 50-43, 50-42) after five rounds. He improves to 22-6-0.
“The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit vs Matt “The Immortal” Brown
Round 1:
Condit began the fight with a two-punch combination and a grazing head kick right away and he threw more kicks to Brown’s upper body in the ensuing seconds. Brown clinched and took Condit down into half-guard against the base of the cage. Condit got back to full guard and both men landed short elbows on the ground. Brown postured up in the final two minutes and he avoided Condit’s attempts to set up a submission from the bottom. Condit stood and secured a switch with 25 seconds remaining in the round. He punched from the top and Brown rolled for a leglock attempt. Back-and-forth round. 10-9 Brown, barely.
Round 2:
Brown landed a nice standing elbow early in round two and Condit fired back with a body kick. He avoided two takedown attempts from Brown and scored with a quick flurry in close. Brown held Condit against the cage until Condit broke free. After landing a combination, Condit used his right leg to sweep out both of Brown’s legs and Condit took top position on the ground. He punched to the body and mixed in short elbows to Brown’s face. Condit looked to move to a top-side crucifix and then turned his attention to a kimura on Brown’s left arm. Brown defended well, but Condit landed elbows and punches from Brown’s guard until the bell. 10-9 Condit.
Round 3:
Time was called early in the final round after Brown was inadvertently kicked in the groin. The fight continued after a short break and Condit finished a punching combination with a body kick. A clinch followed and Brown landed two right hands before diving at Condit’s ankle. Condit reversed into back control and he prevented Brown from shaking him off. A scramble followed and Condit took top position in side control. He almost mounted Brown and then moved to back control again. Brown fought off a rear-naked choke attempt and the fighters stood up. Condit slipped and fell to his back. Brown avoided a triangle choke attempt, but Condit tied him up and threw punches from the bottom. He scrambled up against the cage and took Brown down, but Brown reversed and wound up on top. 10-9 Condit.
Winner: Carclos Condit by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 32-13-0.
Jingliang “The Leech” Li vs Santiago “Gente Boa” Ponzinibbio
Round 1:
Cautious strikes were exchanged in the opening minute and Li followed up on a combination with two leg kicks. Both men landed lead left hooks and Ponzinibbio scored with two leg kicks of his own. After an exchange of jabs, Li landed a kick-punch combo and he followed with two more leg kicks. Punches were exchanged again and Li landed a massive left hook that sent Ponzinibbio crashing to the mat and ended the fight.
Winner: Jingliang Li by KO (Punch) at 4:25 of round one. He improves to 18-6-0.
Alessio “Manzo” Di Chirico vs Joaquin “New Mansa” Buckley
Round 1:
Di Chirico circled to his right and threw kicks to Buckley’s lead leg and body as Buckley pressed forward with power punches early on. After an exchange of strikes, Buckley ducked into a head kick that struck him in the temple. Buckley fell to his back and Di Chirico landed hammerfists until referee Keith Peterson dove in to rescue Buckley.
Winner: Alessio Di Chirico by KO (Head Kick & Punches) at 2:12 of round one. He improves to 13-5-0.
Punahele “Story Time” Soriano vs Duško “Thunder” Todorović
Round 1:
Todorović had early success with combinations and a body kick, but Soriano cracked him with an overhand left that nearly knocked his mouthpiece out. The fighters separated and Todorović landed a right cross that was answered by a lunging one-two from Soriano. Seconds later, Soriano rocked Todorović with one left cross and dropped him with a second one. He followed with hammerfists on the ground as a dazed Todorović tried to recover. Todorović managed to get back to his feet and Soriano knocked his mouthpiece out with a left cross. Todorović fell to his back, but he regained his composure quickly and he got back to his feet. Time was called to replace the mouthpiece and Soriano dropped Todorović one more time shortly after the restart. Referee Herb Dean had seen enough and jumped in to stop the fight.
Winner: Punahele Soriano by TKO (Punches) at 4:48 of round one. He improves to 8-0-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)