Max Holloway has unified the featherweight belts, winning by 3rd round TKO over Jose Aldo at UFC 212.
The UFC 212 main event at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was a title unification bout between champion Jose Aldo and interim champ Max Holloway. After a strong start for the Brazilian, it was Hawaii’s Holloway who knocked Aldo down in round 3 and ultimately put him away with ground-and-pound to become the new and undisputed king of 145.
Fans chanted “Ole ole ole! Aldo! Aldo!” for their countryman. It was a cautious beginning, with neither man willing to open up in round 1. Aldo connected first with a straight right. Holloway landed a left hook in the clinch, but Aldo scored on his own left and swarmed Holloway with several big shots. A knee caught Holloway clean but he managed to stay upright and return to the center of the cage. Holloway jabbed to the body but otherwise wasn’t throwing often. Aldo cracked Holloway with a sharp uppercut but Max answered back with a couple of punches. Holloway got in a spinning kick as the round ended, but Aldo had the upper hand.
Aldo started round 2 with a liver punch. Holloway was reaching with his punches and getting tagged on the counter. A three-punch combo by Holloway had the final punch land. He also connected on a right over the top. Holloway stung Aldo with a left hook and then a right. Aldo returned fire with a body shot. In the final minute of round 2, Aldo scored with a lovely jab. Two punches by Aldo made Holloway egg him on to throw more, and he obliged. They both went swinging in the closing seconds, with Aldo smashing home a spinning kick to the body. Holloway channeled his inner Diaz brother with the Hawaiian equivalent of a Stockton Slap. Aldo had a mouse under his left eye, and Holloway’s left eye was also swelling.
Holloway hit Aldo with a 1-2 and one shot appeared to catch Aldo’s attention. Aldo hit Holloway with a knee but ate a left hook. The interim champion was getting into a rhythm and connecting more frequently and with serious. A brutal 1-2 combination jacked the jaw of Jose Aldo and dropped him hard. Holloway went for the finish and had him in full mount. Aldo escaped the mount but was still getting punched from all angles. Holloway continued to smash home monstrous punches on Aldo and he was in massive trouble. He managed to get into full mount and Holloway just continued to pour it on. Holloway tried to go for the rear-naked choke but couldn’t get the arm underneath the chin, so he resorted to punches from back mount. John McCarthy told Aldo to move, as he was turtled up and taking even more damage. Aldo wasn’t moving, and McCarthy stopped it. We have a new champion at 145 lbs, and his name is Max Holloway.
Official result: Max Holloway def. Jose Aldo by TKO (punches) at 3:14 of round 2 to become the new UFC featherweight champion
Holloway has won an astonishing 11 straight fights, and now he’s finished the greatest featherweight of all-time to become the undisputed champion. Aldo has lost two of his last three, both by (T)KO, and his time at the absolute top of the division has come to an end in front of his home fans.