Hawaii’s Max Holloway went to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to try and take the 145-pound title from Brazilian champion Jose Aldo and unify the featherweight belts. He entered the Octagon to boos and left it as the undisputed champion.
Aldo got off to solid start against Holloway. He hurt him with a left hand midway through the opening round. He was landing his counter shots and beating Holloway in the exchanges.
In the second round, Holloway picked up the pace but Aldo landed the cleaner strikes. As the round played out, Holloway began to gain momentum. He started taunting the champ. Aldo exploded with a combination in the closing seconds of the frame in response to the taunting.
Between rounds, Holloway’s corner instructed him to increase his output. He listened to his corner. He moved forward and took the fight to Aldo. His right hand found a home and he started dictating the pace.
A combination dropped Aldo and Holloway went in for the kill. He mounted the Brazilian and unloaded with punches. Aldo scrambled out of the mount position but was still absorbing shots. “Blessed” landed a right hand that made Aldo go briefly limp. He mounted Aldo a second time and Aldo gave up his back. Holloway maintained dominant position and continues to throw punches. Referee John McCarthy warned Aldo to defend himself before stepping in seconds later to stop the fight.
“I’ve been telling you guys already, this is Blessed era,” he said before calling for a performance bonus. “Dana White, where’s my 50K? I want my check. I’ll see you guys in Hawaii. UFC Hawaii, make it happen.”
