Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis added to UFC 206

By Ryan Frederick
Published: 26 Oct 2016, 14:53

A key featherweight bout has been added to December’s UFC 206 event as Max Holloway (16-3, 12-3 UFC) will put his nine-fight win streak on the line when he takes on former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis (19-5, 6-4 UFC). The bout was first reported by TSN in Canada.

Holloway will be looking to accomplish a rare feat inside the Octagon of getting ten straight wins after posting back-to-back decision wins over Ricardo Lamas and Jeremy Stephens in his two most recent fights. He also has scored wins over notable ranked fighters such as Cub Swanson and Charles Oliveira during his win streak, which has seen him finish six of his nine opponents.

The streak has catapulted Holloway to third in the UFC’s official rankings, and many think he is next in line for a title shot after the situation between Jose Aldo, Conor McGregor and the unification of the UFC Featherweight Championship gets sorted out.

Pettis is looking to score his second straight win since moving down to 145 pounds after scoring a submission win over Charles Oliveira in August. That ended his three-fight losing skid which started with losing his UFC Lightweight Championship to now former champion Rafael Dos Anjos, and followed with losses to current champion Eddie Alvarez and Edson Barboza.

Despite the skid, Pettis has never been finished in his career, and even though he has just one fight at 145 pounds, he finds himself currently ranked sixth and could be in line for a title shot with a win over Holloway.

Other additions to that event today include a bantamweight bout between Mitch Gagnon (12-3, 4-2 UFC) and Matthew Lopez (8-1, 0-1 UFC), and a women’s strawweight bout change as Valerie Letourneau (8-5, 3-2 UFC) now takes on debuting Viviane Pereira (11-0, 0-0 UFC), who is a replacement for the injured Poliana Botelho.

UFC 206 takes place on December 10 from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The event is headlined by a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout as Daniel Cormier defends against Anthony Johnson.