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Following his UFC debut in 2012, Max Holloway gradually cemented himself as one of the best fighters in the sport of MMA with one impressive performance after another. Speaking of which, one of Holloway's most iconic performances was his TKO victory in his UFC featherweight title defense against the then-undefeated Brian Ortega four years ago.
'Blessed' put his featherweight championship on the line against Brian Ortega at UFC 231 on December 8th, 2018. Many viewed 'T-City' as a huge threat to Max Holloway's title reign, particularly owing to his outstanding submission prowess and unbeaten MMA record.
Watch highlights from Holloway's masterful performance in the video below:
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Right from round one to the end of round four, 'Blessed' staved off Brian Ortega's takedown attempts and put on a striking clinic, inflicting severe damage to Ortega's head and body.
Ultimately, Max Holloway was declared the victor via fourth-round TKO after the octagon-side doctor stopped the fight between rounds four and five. As displayed below, earlier this week, Holloway acknowledged the UFC's throwback tweet featuring highlights from his matchup against Ortega.
Max Holloway's most recent fight was a unanimous decision loss against reigning UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in July of this year. Meanwhile, Brian Ortega is coming off a first-round TKO (shoulder injury) defeat against Yair Rodriguez in July.
Holloway is looking to get back into the octagon and return to his winning ways, while Ortega is currently working on recovering from his injury ahead of his comeback.
Is a fight against another undefeated star on the horizon for Max Holloway in 2023?
Presently, Alexander Volkanovski is set to move up to fight UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev for the latter's title at UFC 284 on February 12, 2023. Furthermore, Yair Rodriguez is scheduled to face Josh Emmett for the interim UFC featherweight title at UFC 284.
Having lost thrice to Volkanovski, including in his last fight, Holloway is out of the title picture for the time being. That said, akin to how he clashed with Ortega in 2018, 'Blessed' now appears destined to collide with another unbeaten UFC featherweight star.
The fighter in question is the UK's, Arnold Allen. Speaking to Abz Talks a few weeks ago, Allen lobbied for a fight against Holloway. Suggesting that a victory over a legend like 'Blessed' would mean much more than winning the interim UFC featherweight title, 'Almighty' said:
"A lot of people are saying Max is the fight to make. That would be a fun one. I don’t see why not. And also, I think a win over him would be a bigger statement, and then you throw your interim in the bin, right?"
Watch Allen address a possible Holloway matchup below:
