Featherweight Champion Currently 4/7 Favourite To Win
Published on May 5th, 2018 1:25 pm ESTWritten By: Dave Manuel
The co-main event of UFC 226: Miocic vs Cormier will feature a compelling Featherweight title fight between Max Holloway and Brian Ortega.If you'll remember, Max Holloway was supposed to move up in weight to take on Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223. After a bizarre series of events took place (including Conor McGregor throwing a dolly through a bus window), Nurmagomedov ended up taking on Al Iaquinta after NYSAC officials decided that Holloway's weight cut was going too poorly and he was not fit to fight. Holloway's heroic attempts to make weight endured him even more to UFC officials, and they rewarded him by putting the Hawaiian star on the massive UFC 226 PPV, where he will surely collect a great deal of PPV revenue.
In Brian Ortega, Holloway likely gets the toughest challenge of his reign as Featherweight champion. Ortega has put up a very impressive series of wins, including the first ever knockout of Frankie Edgar, as well as a submission victory over Cub Swanson. There is no denying that Ortega is the #1 contender in the Featherweight division.
Max Holloway, on the other hand, is in the midst of a long 11 fight winning streak that includes multiple victories over Jose Aldo, as well as wins over Jeremy Stephens and Cub Swanson. Holloway's strengths are his outstanding cardio and volume striking game - there are not too many fighters in the Featherweight division that can stand with Holloway for a full five rounds.
Ortega, on the other hand, is an incredibly balanced fighter who has one of the slickest submission games in the UFC. Also, as we witnessed in his fight against Frankie Edgar, Ortega is blessed with knockout power as well.
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Let's take a look at the current odds for this fight, courtesy of Bet365:
Source: Bet365
Time Stamp: May 5th, 2018 1:07 pm EST
Odds Subject to Change
Max Holloway, 4/7
Brian Ortega, 6/4
Total Rounds
Over 3.5, 15/13
Under 3.5, 14/19
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In reality, this fight is like a toss-up, though Holloway will get the edge due to his championship pedigree. If these two men were to fight 100 times, I'm not sure who I would choose to win more than 50.
