Preview: UFC 206 ‘Holloway vs. Pettis’

Max Holloway will square off with Anthony Pettis for the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title in the UFC 206 main event on Saturday at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. A unification bout with recently promoted undisputed champion Jose Aldo awaits the winner, as the three men attempt to fill the void left by Conor McGregor’s divisional departure. In the welterweight co-headliner, Donald Cerrone meets Matt Brown in a three-round clash at 170 pounds that promises fireworks. The rest of the five-fight main card features a featherweight affair pairing Cub Swanson with Doo Ho Choi, a middleweight battle pitting Tim Kennedy against Kelvin Gastelum and a welterweight tilt matching Jordan Mein with Emil Weber Meek.Let us take a closer look at each UFC 206 “Holloway vs. Pettis” (current odds) matchup, with analysis and picks:Interim UFC Featherweight Championship Max Holloway (16-3) vs. Anthony Pettis (19-5)THE MATCHUP: Though the circumstances surrounding it are a little fishy, the fact that this is now an interim title fight means that either Pettis or Holloway will go on to fight Jose Aldo. That alone makes this bout worthwhile. That it also happens to be a fantastic matchup is just the interim icing on the cake. Not only is it stylistically fascinating, with the aimless sharpshooter Pettis taking on the high-output Holloway, but it offers juicy narrative, as well. Can Pettis get back on track to a fight he asked for years ago, or will the consistently superb prospect finally get a crack at the throne? I have gone back and forth in evaluating Pettis’ featherweight debut against Charles Oliveira. The fight was close. Pettis was still too easy to back into the fence and tie up, shortening the amount of time he had to figure out things in his most effective range; and Pettis seemed to gas …

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