Tag: Max Holloway

‘UFC 245 Embedded,’ No. 2: A trip through nature with ‘Hiker Holloway’

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the big stars of UFC 245, which features Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington in the main event.

The UFC’s 12th and final pay-per-view of the year takes place Saturday with UFC 245, and the promotion’s popular “Embedded” series returns to get you ready.

UFC 245 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

In the main event, UFC welterweight champion[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] attempts to defend his belt against [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] in a long-awaited grudge match. And in the co-main event, UFC featherweight title challenger [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] puts his belt on the line against [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]. Also on the card, [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] faces [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] for the UFC women’s bantamweight title.

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The second episode of “Embedded” follows the big-name stars at the top of the card. Here’s the UFC’s description:

On Episode 2 of UFC 245 Embedded, welterweight title challenger Colby Covington enjoys the familiar faces and fond memories at a Las Vegas wrestling tournament. Featherweight title challenger Alexander Volkanovski cruises through his workout but struggles with a hotel mini-fridge. Featherweight king Max Holloway leads his team on a hike at Red Rock Canyon and demonstrates his questionable tracking skills. Double champ Amanda Nunes does media hits and sightsees in LA. UFC 245 Embedded is an all-access, behind-the-scenes video blog leading up to the three title fights taking place Saturday December 14. Order the Pay-Per-View at ESPNPlus.com/PPV

Also see:

UFC 245 fight breakdown: Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski

Check out the MMA junkie’s John Morgan and Dan Tom’s analysis and predictions for the UFC 245 main event between Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski.

Check out the MMA junkie’s John Morgan and Dan Tom’s analysis and predictions for the UFC 245 main event between Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski.

Spinning Back Clique: UFC 245 preview, UFC DC reaction

MMA Junkie’s John Morgan, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” unpack the latest MMA news and notes in Episode 6 of “Spinning Back Clique.”

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. In this week’s episode, John Morgan, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” react to what transpired at UFC on ESPN 7 and preview what’s to come this Saturday at UFC 245.

Show rundown:

  • [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] at UFC DC. He was getting mostly dominated and on his way to a guaranteed decision loss before a huge right hand knocked out Overeem (and shattered his lip) with four seconds remaining in the fifth round. Rozenstruik remains undefeated at 10-0 overall and 4-0 in the UFC. But after that performance, are we buying or selling him as a legit contender at heavyweight?
  • [autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag] delivered a pair of painful groin’ kicks to [autotag]Stefan Struve[/autotag] at UFC DC, then went on to score a TKO victory – but not before referee Dan Miragliotta advised Struve to continue fighting. Since when should a referee be offering fighters advice during a fight?
  • [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] made history as the first woman to step inside the octagon back in 2013. More recently, she competed for a UFC title again earlier this year but lost to flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. Carmouche, 4-2 in her last six fights, was released last Friday by the UFC – get this – while she was in Washington D.C. doing a promotional tour with troops for the promotion. What do we make of her unceremonious exit, and what’s next for her?
  • It’s UFC 245 fight week, which means we’re on the verge of finally seeing [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] clash with [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag], who’s been promoting the heck out of this showdown, but has he gone too far?
  • Speaking of UFC 245, there are two other big title fights on the card: [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] and [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] 2. Which challenger is more likely to win? And which “old dog” on the main card is more likely to turn back the clock: [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] or [autotag]Urijah Faber[/autotag]?

For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 6 of “Spinning Back Clique.”

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Video: ‘UFC 245 Countdown’ for Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski

Did you miss the debut of “UFC 245 Countdown,” or just want to watch it again? Check out the co-main event preview now.

Did you miss the debut of “UFC 245 Countdown,” or just want to watch it again? Check out the main event preview now.

The segment takes a special look at the featherweight fight between [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) and [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC), which will let the winner claim he’s the best 145-pounder in the UFC.

UFC 245 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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“Countdown” goes behind the scenes with the two fighters, and you can watch the full segment above. And don’t miss the entire episode in the video below.

Check out the entire UFC 245 fight card below:

  • Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington – for welterweight title
  • Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski – for featherweight title
  • Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie – for women’s bantamweight title
  • Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Moraes
  • Urijah Faber vs. Petr Yan
  • Geoff Neal vs. Mike Perry
  • Irene Aldana vs. Ketlen Vieira
  • Omari Akhmedov vs. Ian Heinisch
  • Matt Brown vs. Ben Saunders
  • Kai Kara-France vs. Brandon Moreno
  • Chase Hooper vs. Daniel Teymur
  • Jessica Eye vs. Viviane Araujo
  • Oskar Piechota vs. Punahele Soriano

‘The Blessed Era’: Inside Max Holloway’s resume ahead of UFC 245

Max Holloway already has accomplished a lot in his career and has the opportunity to do more in the UFC 245 headliner.

UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] returns to the octagon Saturday for what he hopes will be his fourth consecutive title defense, this time against Alexander Volkanovski.

Since his title reign began two years ago, Holloway (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) has proven himself to be one of the most dominant champions in the sport. “Blessed” will attempt to continue that against Volkanovski (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) when they meet in the UFC 245 co-headliner, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

With another significant contest in Holloway’s career just around the corner, there’s no better time to take a closer look at everything he’s achieved to date and what records are in store if he continues his championship form at UFC 245.

General statistics

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Holloway is ranked No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA featherweight rankings and No. 7 pound-for-pound.

He is set to become the first fighter to reach 20 UFC featherweight appearance.

At 28, he becomes the youngest fighter to make 22 UFC appearances.

His 13-fight UFC winning streak that was snapped at UFC 236 is tied with Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre and Demetrious Johnson for the second longest in company history behind Anderson Silva (16).

His 13-fight UFC winning streak in featherweight competition is the longest active streak in the division.

At 25, he became the youngest fighter in UFC history to earn 15 victories with the organization at UFC 218 in December 2017. He was also the youngest to reach 10 wins at age 23.

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His 16 victories in UFC featherweight competition are the most in divisional history.

His 10 stoppage victories in UFC featherweight competition are the most in divisional history.

His eight knockout victories in UFC featherweight competition are most in divisional history.

His six third-round stoppage victories in UFC competition are tied with Randy Couture and Yoel Romero for most in company history.

His eight knockdowns landed in UFC featherweight competition are tied with Chad Mendes and Josh Emmett for second-most in divisional history behind Jeremy Stephens (11).

His seven fight-night bonuses for UFC featherweight bouts are tied with Chan Sung Jung and Yair Rodriguez for second most in divisional history behind Cub Swanson (eight).

Championship statistics

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Holloway is one of three fighters in UFC history to win the undisputed featherweight title, along with Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor.

He is one of two Hawaiian-born champions in UFC history. B.J. Penn also accomplished the feat.

His three consecutive featherweight title defenses are most current male UFC champions and second most overall behind Amanda Nunes (four).

He became the first champion in more than nine years to record a successful title defense immediately after suffering a loss when he beat Frankie Edgar at UFC 240.

He has won four of his five UFC featherweight championship fight appearances by knockout.

In-fight statistics

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Holloway becomes the third fighter in UFC history to reach 22 octagon appearances without suffering a knockdown. Penn and Jones also accomplished the feat.

His 1,937 significant strikes landed in UFC competition are most in company history.

His rate of 6.61 significant strikes landed per minute in UFC featherweight competition is second highest in divisional history behind Shane Burgos (7.09).

He landed 290 significant strikes against Brian Ortega at UFC 231, the single-fight UFC record.

He landed 134 significant strikes in Round 4 a UFC 231, the single-round UFC record.

He and Ortega combined for 400 significant strikes landed at UFC 231, the single-fight UFC record.

He is the only fighter in history to land 100 or more significant strikes in nine separate UFC fights. Joanna Jedrzejczyk ranks second with seven such performances.

His total fight time of 4:07:00 in UFC featherweight competition is second most in divisional history behind Darren Elkins (4:09:04).

‘UFC 245 Embedded,’ No. 1: ‘Trump, I’ve got a new belt for you’

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the big stars of UFC 245, which features Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington in the main event.

The UFC’s 12th and final pay-per-view of the year takes place Saturday with UFC 245, and the promotion’s popular “Embedded” series returns to get you ready.

UFC 245 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

In the main event, UFC welterweight champion[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] attempts to defend his belt against [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] in a long-awaited grudge match. And in the co-main event, UFC featherweight title challenger [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] puts his belt on the line against [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]. Also on the card, [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] faces [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] for the UFC women’s bantamweight title.

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The first episode of “Embedded” follows the big-name stars at the top of the card as they arrive in Las Vegas. Here’s the UFC’s description:

On Episode 1 of UFC 244 Embedded, welterweight champion Kamaru Usman goes from “scruffy” to polished at home and then hits the gym for more finishing touches. Rival Colby Covington arrives in Las Vegas and dedicates his upcoming success to a famous family. Featherweight title challenger Alexander Volkanovski makes the long trip from New Zealand with teammate and UFC 245 flyweight Kai Kara France. Featherweight champion Max Holloway works out and horses around with his team at UFC Performance Institute. UFC 245 Embedded is an all-access, behind-the-scenes video blog leading up to the three title fights taking place Saturday December 14. Order the Pay-Per-View at ESPNPlus.com/PPV

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UFC 245: Make predictions for Usman-Covington, Holloway-Volkanovski, Nunes-de Randamie title fights

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC 245 event in Las Vegas, which features three title fights at the top of the card.

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC 245 event in Las Vegas.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC 245 event staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC 245 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

Make your picks for all five main card fights inside:

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7

UFC 245: How to watch Usman vs. Covington, full card, start time, streaming info

All the info you need to watch UFC 245, which features three title fights, including Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington.

The UFC is back home in Las Vegas for its final pay-per-view and one of the most anticipated events of 2019, which features three title fights at the top of the bill.

In the main event, welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] and [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] finally will settle their longstanding when they square off for the title. In the co-main event, featherweight champ [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] will defend his belt against [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]. Also, UFC dual champ [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] is set to put her women’s bantamweight title on the line in a rematch with former featherweight champ [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag].

There’s that and much more on the stacked card. Take a look at the UFC 245 event info with lineup, start times, and key storylines below.

What: UFC 245

When: Saturday

Where: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas

TV, Live stream: ESPN+ (subscribe here), ESPN 2, pay-per-view

Full fight card, start times

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

Main Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET

  • Champ Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington – for welterweight title
  • Champ Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski – for featherweight title
  • Champ Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie – for women’s bantamweight title
  • Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Moraes
  • Urijah Faber vs. Petr Yan

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Geoff Neal vs. Mike Perry
  • Irene Aldana vs. Ketlen Vieira
  • Omari Akhmedov vs. Ian Heinisch
  • Matt Brown vs. Ben Saunders

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)

  • Chase Hooper vs. Daniel Teymur
  • Kai Kara-France vs. Brandon Moreno
  • Viviane Araujo vs. Jessica Eye
  • Oskar Piechota vs. Punahele Soriano

Key storylines

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Max Holloway excited for Jose Aldo’s move down to bantamweight at UFC 245

Max Holloway shares his thoughts on former adversary Jose Aldo’s decision to move down to 135 pounds.

LOS ANGELES – Despite throwing down twice with [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag], [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] appears to have nothing but respect for the former champion.

During a media day event Thursday in Los Angeles, UFC featherweight champ Holloway was asked about former 145-pound titleholder Aldo’s decision to move down to bantamweight for his next bout.

Aldo fights Marlon Moraes at UFC 245 next week. Holloway defends his featherweight title on the same card against Alexander Volkanovski in the co-main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

And while Holloway admitted he was a little surprised at first, he thinks Aldo can make the weight if he’s disciplined.

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“I was like, ‘Thank God I don’t have to face him again,'” Holloway said. “That guy’s a beast. He’s strong. I was kind of blown away at first. I was like, ‘Oh, he’s going to make ’35, and it’s possible. It’s just changing your diet and this and that.’ So I wish nothing but the best for him. But we’ll see what happens.

“I’m excited. He’s fighting, in my eyes – it’s like fighting a clone. Him and Marlon are like the same, and they’re both Brazilians. I’m excited for that fight, so I can’t wait to watch that fight, too.”

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Max Holloway can see himself moving all the way up to middleweight when he’s older

UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway can see himself moving all the way up to 185 pounds when he’s older.

LOS ANGELES – [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] is willing to compete at just about any weight class.

The UFC featherweight champion has a tough time making the 145-pound limit, and certainly sees himself moving up in weight in the future – possibly all the way up to 185 pounds.

“I don’t know about holding belts all at one time, this and that, but nobody really got three yet,” Holloway said at a Thursday media event. “So 170,  I could see myself … I just turned 28, I can see myself maybe going to (1)85, being healthy, and getting strong there. I’ve got five, six more years in this sport. Who knows? I might pull a ‘DC’ (Daniel Cormier) on you guys and fight to 40.

“I’m a Polynesian/Hawaiian/Samoan, and I’m probably the smallest Samoan/Hawaiian you guys see. So I think the weight issue is not a problem. This is about getting in the gym, getting the weights, and actually packing on the muscle.”

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Holloway has racked up quite a resume at featherweight. He hasn’t lost at 145 pounds since a unanimous decision setback to Conor McGregor in 2013 and has run through the division since then.

Holloway’s idea of being the best fighter in the world entails competing at whichever weight class includes the top talent. He may have failed in his first attempt to capture the interim lightweight title against Dustin Poirier at UFC 236, but the goal remains the same.

“I want to be the best mixed martial artist in the world, and being the best mixed martial artist is not a guy who stays in his weight and dominates his weight,” Holloway said. “It is someone who’s willing to go at whatever weight. So whatever’s the best guys, whoever’s the best guy in the world … you guys tell me. I’ve got a couple of belts I want to fight for.”

For now, Holloway (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) will look to continue his dominance in the featherweight division, when takes on Alexander Volkanovski (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) at UFC 245 on Dec. 14, looking to notch his fourth title defense.

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