Jose Aldo was hoping to build on his legendary featherweight resume last night (Sat., June 3, 2017) at UFC 212 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from inside the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when he defended his 145-pound title against interim champion Max Holloway, who came into the main event showdown riding a 10-fight win streak.
It was all Aldo in the early going. Holloway tried to mix things up from the outer edges, but Aldo hurt him bad with a left hook in Round 1 that stunned the Hawaiian. Aldo followed it up with a flying knee along the cage and a few more lefts to end the round. In the second frame, Aldo landed a buckling liver shot early and a snapping jab late. Holloway finally started to launch some successful combinations and get his offense rolling, even taunting Aldo with his hands out before the bell.
Entering round three with momentum in hand, Holloway started to pour it on Aldo. After connecting on another combination that sent Aldo backwards, Holloway was in ultimate form. He cracked the Brazilian with a flush right hand that sent Aldo crashing to the canvas. From there, “Blessed” rained down heavy ground-and-pound for what seemed to be an eternity. Referee John McCarthy probably let it go for a little too long, but eventually peeled Holloway off for the TKO stoppage.
The full fight video highlights can be seen above courtesy of UFC.
With this win, Holloway will leave Brazil the undisputed UFC featherweight champion of the world. He has looked better in every one of his Octagon appearances, despite starting off slow at UFC 212. The arena was clearly shook by seeing Aldo drop yet another title fight by way of knockout, but you have to respect Holloway’s output at the end of the day.
For complete UFC 212 results and coverage click here.
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