Holloway batters Aldo to retain UFC featherweight belt

UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway defended his title with a devastating third-round technical knockout victory against Brazil's Jose Aldo in Detroit on Saturday, retaining his belt with a second consecutive stoppage of the former title holder.

Holloway traded blows with Aldo over the first two rounds before letting loose in the third, finishing off the 31-year-old with 10 seconds to go in the round after unleashing a punishing series of ground strikes at a sold-out Little Caesars Arena.

Aldo's first reign as featherweight champion was brought to an abrupt halt in just 13 seconds by Conor McGregor in December 2015, but he got the belt back when the Irishman was stripped of it by the UFC 11 months later after becoming lightweight champ.

The Brazilian lost the belt to Holloway in June and was only awarded a rematch when contender Frankie Edgar pulled out due to injury, but once again he came up short against the wily 25-year-old Hawaiian, who won his 12th straight bout.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by John O'Brien)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

What's next for Conor McGregor?

How can Conor McGregor top his spectacular achievement at UFC 194, when he ended Jose Aldo's decade of dominance in just 13 seconds?

How about holding two UFC championship belts at once? For the brash, outspoken, and talented Irishman, the goal of holding two titles at the same time is very much in the cards.

McGregor on Saturday crushed Aldo with a perfectly placed left hand punch that sent the Brazilian icon falling to the canvas. He followed it up with a couple of hammer fists, and the referee quickly stopped the fight, ending Aldo's long reign as featherweight champion.


In the post-fight press conference, it was revealed that UFC president Dana White "saw two potential paths" for McGregor, as reported by MMA Fighting. "The Notorious" can either vacate his featherweight belt and move up to lightweight, where he can immediately challenge for the title, or defend his belt against Frankie Edgar.

"I think that was always his plan," White said, as quoted by MMA Fighting in a separate report. "He wanted to fight Jose Aldo, and then move to 55 (lightweight) and then fight for that title."

McGregor is open to both scenarios but said he has no intention of vacating his featherweight belt.


"I'll tell you one thing that won't be happening. If I go up to that lightweight division, there's no way in hell that I'm vacating my belt," he declared. "That's not happening."

"There will be a belt on one shoulder and a belt on the other," he said.

In the history of the UFC, only two fighters have held belts in multiple weight divisions – Randy Couture and BJ Penn. Neither fighter held the championships concurrently, however, and that is the goal that McGregor hopes to reach.

"Look how many fights I've had in the last year. I stay busy. I stay fresh. So when I go to lightweight and take that lightweight belt, I will stay the featherweight champion also," he said.

"I will be a dual weight champion. There is no going up and vacating. The belt will still be active, because I am active," he said.

White has yet to comment on McGregor's plans.

The lightweight belt is currently held by Rafael Dos Anjos, who is set to make a title defense next week against Donald Cerrone.

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McGregor knocks out Aldo to become undisputed champ

Conor McGregor needed only 13 seconds to knock out Brazilian legend Jose Aldo in their highly anticipated UFC 194 main event and become the undisputed UFC featherweight champion of the world.

McGregor landed a brutal left hand that landed flush on Aldo's jaw, sending the Brazilian crashing face-first into the canvas.

Remarkably, Aldo landed a left punch of his own as he was falling down, but McGregor barely looked affected and was quick to respond when he saw his opponent on the mat, landing hammer fists on a supine Aldo.

The referee moved immediately to put a stop to the contest, and McGregor leapt to the top of the Octagon in celebration, soaking the love of the Irish fans that filled up at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night (Sunday in Manila).

"Again, nobody can take that left hand shot," said McGregor, who became the interim champion after beating Chad Mendes in July at UFC 189. "I tell you, he's powerful and he's fast, but precision beats power, and timing beats speed, and that's what you saw out there."


It was Aldo's first loss in the UFC and only the second of his career; his last defeat was in November 2005. Prior to the setback, Aldo had been the only featherweight champion in UFC history, successfully defending the belt seven times.

He was knocked out cold by a punch that he did not see coming, however. It was the fastest title fight in the history of the UFC, and the first time in his career that Aldo had been knocked out.

"I feel for Jose, he was a phenomenal champion and he deserved to go a little bit longer," said McGregor, who has won 15 consecutive fights. "But I still feel, at the end of the day, that precision beats power and timing beats speed all the day of the week."

"It would have happened sooner or later," said the brash Irishman.

Aldo, bleeding from a cut on the bridge of his nose, said afterwards that he wants a rematch.

"He threw a cross at my chest, which was unexpected, then I threw a punch and he came back with another cross and that was that," Aldo said through a translator.

"I think that we need a rematch. That was really not a fight, so we need to get back in here," he said.

Aldo and McGregor were initially set to face off at UFC 189, but the Brazilian pulled out with just a few weeks to go due to an injury suffered in training camp. Mendes took his place and was knocked out by McGregor, setting up the title unification bout.

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WATCH: McGregor nabs title belt form Aldo

The build-up to the UFC 189 main event between Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo has been fraught with fierce stare downs and near skirmishes, and it reached another level during the World Tour's last stop in Dublin, Ireland.

McGregor, cheered on by his raucous hometown fans, was in his element, although Aldo gave as good as he got, even telling the crowd: "I'm the king of Dublin."

McGregor responded by putting his feet up on the table, and, seconds later, reached over Aldo's side of the stage to snatch the UFC featherweight belt, which was placed in front of the Brazilian champion.

Aldo immediately got to his feet and tried to grab his belt back as McGregor held it aloft, though the two men were kept apart by UFC president Dana White.

"You're looking at the King!" McGregor crowed as the Dublin fans went wild.

Aldo, for his part, brushed off the incident.

"I didn't feel anything," said the Brazilian star in an interview with UFC Brasil. "That's the best he can do, because the next time he's in front of me, I will be the (expletive) out of his face."

Nabbing Aldo's belt was the latest of McGregor's stunts during the press tour. In Los Angeles, he taunted the champion, then grabbed the back of Aldo's neck during their stop in Toronto.

UFC 189 is set for July 11 in Las Vegas.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com