Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar Booked for UFC Fight Night Headliner on Jan. 16

An intriguing featherweight clash will serve as the main event for UFC Fight Night on Jan. 16 when ex-champ Max Holloway locks horns with Calvin Kattar.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the booking on Tuesday. A location for the event was not revealed.

Holloway is coming off back-to-back five-round losses to current 145-pound champ Alexander Volkanovski. The second of those, a split-decision setback at UFC 251, was a controversial verdict in the eyes of more than a few observers. The 28-year-old Hawaiian went undefeated in 13 UFC appearances from 2014 to 2018, a run that included a reign as the organization’s featherweight champion. “Blessed” successfully defended the crown three times before relinquishing it to Volkanovski at UFC 245.

Kattar has been trending upward with victories in four of his last five Octagon appearances. The 32-year-old known as “The Boston Finisher” went 2-0 in 2020, knocking out Jeremy Stephens at UFC 249 before outpointing Dan Ige in the UFC on ESPN 13 headliner on July 15. Kattar also owns notable wins against the likes of Ricardo Lamas, Shane Burgos and Andre Fili.