Six months later, Holloway faced Anthony “Showtime” Pettis for the interim featherweight title in Toronto. Pettis, unfortunately, missed championship weight by three pounds, leaving only Holloway eligible to win the title.
Oliveira: Submission Loss vs Anthony Pettis, Submission Loss vs Ricardo Lamas
Despite missing weight, Oliveira found himself in a marquee spot opposite former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, who was moving down to featherweight for the first time. The fight was a back-and-forth affair, but Pettis wore on Oliveira before eventually submitting him via guillotine, just the second man to force the Brazilian to tap.
The third man to accomplish such a feat would, unfortunately, come in his next fight. Against Lamas in Mexico City, Oliveira tipped the scales 10 pounds over the limit, missing weight for the second time in three fights. Lamas would secure a guillotine choke midway through the second round, and Oliveira would move up to lightweight following the bout.
Jai Opetaia & Brandon Glanton Battle For Inaugural Zuffa Boxing World Cruiserweight Championship This Sunday
2017
Holloway: TKO Win vs José Aldo, TKO Win vs José Aldo
With the interim belt around his waist, Holloway turned his eyes to the great José Aldo. The unification bout came in the summer at UFC 212 in Aldo’s backyard of Rio de Janeiro, but the young Holloway was unfazed in hostile territory. Despite Aldo’s success early in the fight, Holloway remained steadfast and pounced when Aldo started to slow down, eventually earning the TKO finish in the third round and stunning the Brazilian crowd.
Now the undisputed champion, Holloway was expected to fight former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 218, but when Edgar withdrew due to injury, Holloway found The King of Rio in his sights again. The rematch played out similarly to the first, with Aldo finding some early success before Holloway gained momentum and bowled over Aldo to earn another third-round TKO. Beating the man considered the greatest featherweight of all-time twice in one year catapulted Holloway into that same discussion at just 26 years old.