Jose Aldo at UFC 212 – Jun. 3, 2017
Holloway didn’t get his February title shot, but his championship opportunity eventually came in June as “Blessed” took on reigning champ Aldo in Rio and finished the Brazilian in front of his own fans to usher in a new era for the featherweight division.
The champion had the home-field advantage, and it seemed to take Holloway a couple of rounds to fully loosen up as he approached his shot at undisputed gold with a degree of tentativeness. But after eight minutes in the cage with Aldo, Holloway flipped the switch in the latter stages of Round 2, when he countered the Brazilian for his first major success in the fight.
That success sparked Holloway into life and the Hawaiian turned up the pace in Round 3. The interim champ let his hands fly and more often than not they found their target as he started to punish Aldo on the feet. He then dropped the Brazilian and, after a few ground strikes forced Aldo to turn his back on the Hawaiian, Holloway passed on the possible submission to continue raining shots down on the champion before referee John McCarthy waved off the fight.
It was a decisive finish and one that seemed to show Holloway briefly pause at the moment of the biggest opportunity of his career, before putting the pedal to the metal and achieving his destiny.
Watch Max Holloway vs. Jose Aldo on UFC Fight Pass
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