This weekend in the headliner of UFC Fight Island 7, Max Holloway (21-6) will be taking on Calvin Kattar (22-4). The fight is Holloway’s first fight since he lost the rematch to Alexander Volkanovski (22-1) at UFC 251.
Granted, most people believe that Holloway won that fight. Nevertheless, Holloway will enter the cage this Saturday riding a two-fight losing streak. Saturday night is going to be a very interesting evening for Holloway.
UFC Fight Island 7’s headliner will be the first non-title fight for Holloway in almost five years. In June of 2016, Holloway fought Ricardo Lamas at UFC 199. Since then, it’s been all title fights for the blessed one.
Another reason that Saturday is so interesting is the fact that Holloway has so much on the line. Holloway is in a very difficult position at the moment having already lost to the current champion twice on paper.
End of the UFC’s Blessed Era
It’s not only that he’s lost to the current champion twice, but Holloway will enter the cage at UFC Fight Island 7 having gone just 1-3 in his last four fights. Granted, it’s all been to top competition.
He moved up and lost to Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight title. Then of course, he’s had the back-to-back losses to Volkanovski. If Calvin Kattar wins Saturday evening, we might be seeing the end of the Blessed Era.
What we learned at UFC 236 was that Max Holloway is not a lightweight. When he fought Dustin Poirier, he looked so much smaller than Poirier. Featherweight is the ideal spot for the Hawaiian.
Calvin Kattar is riding a ton of momentum into Saturday evening. Holloway on the other hand is looking at a potential three-fight losing streak in the featherweight division. While it wouldn’t spell the end, it would spell a big tumble down the mountain.
For that reason, it could be looked at as a do or die at UFC Fight Island 7. There’s no shame in losing to Poirier, Volkanovski, and Kattar. However, 1-4 in five fights doesn’t show that you’re at the top of the heap in the UFC.