Some see a UFC title run in the future of Max Holloway. | Photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has charged two of its brightest young stars with lighting up the cosmos at 145 pounds.
Holloway will carry a six-fight winning streak into the cage. The 23-year-old last fought at UFC on Fox 15 in April, when he submitted Cub Swanson with a third-round guillotine choke at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., and cemented his place among the sport’s premier featherweights. Holloway has compiled a 9-3 record since arriving in the UFC in February 2012, losing only to Conor McGregor, Dennis Bermudez and Dustin Poirier.
Oliveira will enter the match on the strength of four consecutive victories, three of them finishes. The 25-year-old Macaco Gold Team rep last competed at a UFC Fight Night event on May 30, when he tapped American Top Team’s Nik Lentz with a third-round guillotine choke at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. Wins over Alliance MMA’s Jeremy Stephens, former Shooto and Sengoku champion Hatsu Hioki, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 12 winner Jonathan Brookins and MMA Lab export Efrain Escudero anchor his resume. Oliveira owns an 8-4 mark in UFC competition.
With the Holloway-Oliveira featherweight battle as the centerpiece, here are 10 facts surrounding UFC Fight Night 74:
FACT 1: Holloway ranks first on the UFC’s all-time list among featherweights in knockdowns landed (six) and significant strikes landed (667), per FightMetric. Only Jose Aldo (69.7 percent) has better significant strike defense than Holloway (69.7).
FACT 2: Oliveira has recorded 12 of 20 pro victories by submission: four by rear-naked choke, two by guillotine choke, two by anaconda choke and one each by triangle, calf slicer, armbar and triangle armbar.
FACT 3: Silva has lost to Matt Brown, Dong Hyun Kim, Jon Fitch, Carlo Prater and Mario Neto. They own a cumulative record of 98-38-3.
FACT 4: A semifinalist on Season 16 of “The Ultimate Fighter” and a protégé of former World Extreme Cagefighting champion Miguel Torres, Magny is one of two fighters in UFC history to record five wins in a calendar year. Roger Huerta is the other.
FACT 5: Ukrainian upstart Maryna Moroz has finished her six opponents in a combined 19:06.
FACT 6: Former Maximum Fighting Championship titleholder Patrick Cote has never lost a fight outside the UFC, going a perfect 13-0.
FACT 7: Josh Burkman once went 2,261 days between Octagon appearances. He faced Pete Sell at UFC 90 on Oct. 25, 2008 and did not compete inside the promotion again until he met Hector Lombard at UFC 182 on Jan. 3.
FACT 8: A disciple of the late Shawn Tompkins, Sam Stout has pocketed seven post-fight performance bonuses across his 19 bouts in the UFC. The haul: $455,000.
FACT 9: Only one of Nikita Krylov’s 22 career fights has advanced beyond the first round.
FACT 10: Elevation Fight Team rep Tony Sims sports eight first-round finishes on his resume, including 14-, 41- and 68-second stoppages.