Max Holloway will go back to work in the featherweight division with a main event matchup against fellow top contender Calvin Kattar in January.
On Tuesday, the UFC announced that Holloway (21-6 MMA, 17-6 UFC) vs. Kattar (22-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) is official to headline its UFC Fight Night event on Jan. 16, though details about location, venue and broadcast plans have not been revealed.
The fight will be the first non-title contest for Holloway, No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings, in years. After a lengthy stint as 145-pound champion, Holloway dropped consecutive title fights to Alexander Volkanovski by decision. There was briefly talk of doing a third fight, but it didn’t materialize.
That gives No. 7 Kattar an opening to get the matchup on the heels of a main event win over Dan Ige in July on “Fight Island.” Prior to that, he knocked out Jeremy Stephens.
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The latest lineup for UFC’s Jan. 16 event includes:
- Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar
- Brian Kelleher vs. Ricky Simon
- Jacob Kilburn vs. Austin Lingo
- Tim Elliott vs. Jordan Espinosa
- Carlos Felipe vs. Justin Tafa