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UFC 276 will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, July 2. The co-main event will be Alexander Volkanovski (24-1) defending his UFC featherweight championship against No. 1 ranked Max Holloway. It’s the third fight between the two featherweights, with Volkanovski winning the first two. The five-match main card will be shown on ESPN+ PPV starting at 10 p.m.
After losing a disputed split decision to Volkanovski at UFC 251 at July 12, 2020, Holloway (23-6) was going to have to do some work to earn a third match. It started with a dominating win over Calvin Kattar on January 16, 2021. Holloway set the UFC single-fight records for total strikes landed and attempted, significant strikes landed and attempted, strike differential, distance strikes landed, significant head strikes landed and significant body strikes landed. In the fourth round of the fight Holloway also set the record for strikes and significant strikes landed.
0:11 dude yells at someone, lands a jab to the face, and dodges three punches without looking at Kattar. Max Holloway is baaaaaad man #UFCFightIsland7 pic.twitter.com/Csp6WVg8SW
— Ben Porter (@Ben13Porter) January 16, 2021
Holloway needed to follow up the Kattar performance with another strong effort, and he accomplished that with a unanimous decision win over Yair Rodriguez on November 13, 2021. It was another great display of Holloway’s offensive output and pressure. Rodriguez was a tough opponent, but one that could not match Holloway’s work rate.
Thread: Some of the improved transitional offense of Max Holloway was showcased vs Yair Rodriguez.
— Dan A. (@TypewritingDA) May 29, 2022
Holloway has always had an underrated clinch game, though he refined some of his methods to get there and some shot selections off wrist controls and frames.
1/6 pic.twitter.com/5wL3i0VRIw
Despite Holloway’s recent performances and the fact that he had a legitimate chance at winning their rematch, he is a +165 underdog against Volkanovski. The defending champion is a -195 favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook.