Max Holloway stops Brian Ortega in fight of the year candidate
Following some recent health troubles, any doubts of Max Holloway’s abilities to perform in the Octagon were laid to rest at UFC 231.
In a fight of the year candidate, Brian Ortega proved a worthy adversary for Holloway, but the Hawaiian’s quality striking output told.
Ortega was game, landing some big shots of his own while showing off his granite chin. But Holloway handily stuffed the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu player’s takedown attempts and kept the fight standing where his expertise lie.
Holloway’s striking output simply overwhelmed Ortega, easily taking the first two rounds while bloodying his foe.
Ortega looked resurgent in the third round, landing a number of punches which made Holloway wary of stepping into close quarters.
However, Holloway dug into his reserves and really poured on the pressure in the fourth round. Ortega withstood some tough punishment, but was hampered by poor vision in his swollen left eye as Holloway landed on his opponent at will.
The doctors called the fight off after Ortega made it back to his stool after the fourth, handing Holloway the stoppage victory.
A fantastic fight from both men – Holloway looked better than ever, while Ortega put in a valiant effort which will have earned him many admirers.
Holloway now has a UFC win streak of 13 since 2013, tying him in second with the longest run of victories in UFC history. “Blessed” also landed a UFC record 290 significant strikes on Ortega and still looked fresh.
Valentina Shevchenko bests Joanna J?drzejczyk to win UFC women’s flyweight title
Valentina Shevchenko is your new UFC women’s flyweight champion.
Shevchenko outpowered longtime rival Joanna J?drzejczyk for the vast majority of their bout, dictating every aspect of the contest.
If Shevchenko wanted J?drzejczyk on the floor, she used her arsenal of trips and takedowns. On the feet, Shevchenko’s power kept J?drzejczyk distant, whiffing on her strikes.
J?drzejczyk stayed in the fight throughout. But after five rounds, the judges unanimously awarded the fight to Shevchenko and rightly so.
Shevchenko previously defeated J?drzejczyk in their Muay Thai days, and it appears “Bullet” will remain the UFC women’s flyweight champion for the foreseeable future.
UFC 231 Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega full results
Featherweight championship: Max Holloway (c) defeats Brian Ortega by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of round four.
Women’s flyweight championship: Valentina Shevchenko defeats Joanna J?drzejczyk by unanimous decision after five rounds.
Welterweight: Gunnar Nelson defeats Alex Oliveira by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:17 of round two.
Featherweight: Hakeem Dawodu defeats Kyle Bochniak by split decision after three rounds.
Light Heavyweight: Thiago Santos defeats Jimi Manuwa by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Women’s strawweight: Nina Ansaroff defeats Claudia Gadelha by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Lightweight: Gilbert Burns defeats Olivier Aubin-Mercier by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Women’s flyweight: Jessica Eye defeats Katlyn Chookagian by split decision after three rounds.
Middleweight: Elias Theodorou defeats Eryk Anders by split decision after three rounds.
Bantamweight: Brad Katona defeats Matthew Lopez by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Welterweight: Dhiego Lima defeats Chad Laprise by KO (punch) at 1:37 of round one.
Lightweight: Carlos Diego Ferreira defeats Kyle Nelson by TKO (punches) at 1:23 of round two.
Light Heavyweight: Aleksandar Rakic defeats Devin Clark by TKO (punches) at 4:05 of round one.
