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UFC 231: Max Holloway Stops Brian Ortega Late in Thrilling Slugfest

Max Holloway continued his rise tonight up the pound-for-pound rankings, by stopping Brian Ortega late in the headliner of UFC 231.

Both featherweights came out with a lot of movement and volume, but Holloway appeared to land the more telling shots early on. Just as Holloway started to pick it up, Ortega tagged him with a nice elbow and then a right hand not long after. Ortega appeared to be in deep on a takedown, but Holloway managed to remain standing. The remainder of the round featured several intense striking exchanges, but Holloway got the better of Ortega.

Holloway continued to tag Ortega with his right in round two, and the challenger was bloodied up as a result. Ortega, to his credit, continued to fire back. As round two ended, Ortega’s face was a bloody mess.

Ortega cracked Holloway with a couple of big rights early in round three, which appeared to wobble the champ. The challenger grazed Holloway with a spinning elbow that likely would have finished the fight, if it landed flush. Holloway, however, continued to fire in right hands and as the round ended, Ortega hunted for a takedown to no avail.

Holloway came out aggressively in round four and proceeded to tag Ortega with several solid punches. Holloway continued to pressure and repeatedly hit the challenger with shots. After taking enormous punishment, eventually, Ortega was able to clinch up briefly, but Holloway resumed damaging the featherweight. As round four ended, Ortega’s left eye appeared to be almost completely swollen shut. Moments later, it was announced the fight was over. What a fight.

Here are the complete results for UFC 231, which took place in Toronto, Ontario.

Max Holloway def. Brian Ortega via TKO (doctor stoppage) R4, 5:00

Valentina Shevchenko def. Joanna Jedrzejczyk via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)

Gunnar Nelson def. Alex Oliveira via submission (rear-naked-choke) R2, 4:17

Hakeem Dawodu def. Kyle Bochniak via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)

Thiago Santos def. Jimi Manuwa via KO (punches) R2, 0:41

Nina Ansaroff def. Claudia Gadelha via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28

Gilbert Burns def. Olivier Aubin-Mercier via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Jessica Eye def. Katlyn Chookagian via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Elias Theodorou def. Eryk Anders via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Brad Katona def. Matthew Lopez via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Dhiego Lima def. Chad Laprise via KO (punch) R1, 1:37

Diego Ferreira def. Kyle Nelson via TKO (strikes) R2, 1:23

Aleksandar Rakic def. Devin Clark via TKO (strikes) R1, 4:05

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