On today in 2012, two fighters that will go on to change into UFC legends clashed contained in the Octagon.
Max Holloway says he’s ‘the very best he’s ever felt’ ahead of his return to motion on March 7 on the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
While this will be true, the 34-year-old has already achieved a legendary profession, with 31 UFC bouts under his belt.
His next opponent, Charles Oliveira, who Holloway beat in 2015 before their upcoming rematch for the BMF title, is one other veteran that fans have watched evolve over time.
The defending champion can have been very inexperienced when he debuted within the promotion 14 years ago, but there have been signs of potential at that early stage.
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Max Holloway was in comparison with Anthony Pettis as he stepped contained in the Octagon for the primary time
Max Holloway was the youngest fighter on the UFC roster at 20 years old when he stepped in as a substitute opponent to make his debut on today in 2012.
He was just 4-0 on the time, making him somewhat of an unknown quantity, but commentator Mike Goldberg gave fans some inkling of what to anticipate by sharing the next comparison.
“Some have said he resembles Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis,” Goldberg said as Holloway prepared to enter the Octagon. “Jeremy Stephens actually flew Max to San Diego to assist him prepare for his fight against Anthony Pettis so, if he’s got a bit of Anthony Pettis in him, that is going to be plenty of fun to observe.”
‘Blessed’ was in a position to exhibit a few of his creative striking that inspired these comparisons before Dustin Poirier took Holloway down and submitted him in the primary of their three encounters.
Following back-to-back defeats to Dennis Bermudez and Conor McGregor in 2013, the Hawaiian bounced back with a nine-fight win streak that included victories over the likes of Charles Oliveira and Stephens.
He then earned his first UFC title fight against the person that he’d initially been in comparison with, occurring to stop Pettis within the third round at UFC 206 to win the interim featherweight title.
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One other current UFC star made his Octagon debut on the identical night as Max Holloway
Max Holloway isn’t the one fighter who stepped contained in the Octagon for the primary time at UFC 143 before occurring to perform great things.
Because the oldest lively fighter on the present UFC roster, Stephen Thompson knows that retirement likely isn’t far-off.
The striking specialist made his Octagon debut after racking up a 5-0 record, following his switch to MMA from kickboxing.
His stunning knockout over Dan Stittgen on today in 2012 was just the beginning of ‘Wonderboy’ proving that he’d be greater than at home within the UFC despite his lack of MMA experience.