An intriguing featherweight clash will serve as the main event for
UFC Fight Night on Jan. 16 when ex-champ Max
Holloway locks horns with Calvin
Kattar.
The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the booking on Tuesday. A
location for the event was not revealed.
Holloway is coming off back-to-back five-round losses to current
145-pound champ Alexander
Volkanovski. The second of those, a split-decision setback at
UFC 251, was a controversial verdict in the eyes of more than a few
observers. The 28-year-old Hawaiian went undefeated in 13 UFC
appearances from 2014 to 2018, a run that included a reign as the
organization’s featherweight champion. “Blessed” successfully
defended the crown three times before relinquishing it to
Volkanovski at UFC 245.
Kattar has been trending upward with victories in four of his last
five Octagon appearances. The 32-year-old known as “The Boston
Finisher” went 2-0 in 2020, knocking out Jeremy
Stephens at UFC 249 before outpointing Dan Ige in the
UFC on ESPN 13 headliner on July 15. Kattar also owns notable wins
against the likes of Ricardo
Lamas, Shane
Burgos and Andre
Fili.