UFC 206: Holloway vs. Pettis | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Tito Wordsmith
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
Introduction
UFC 206: Holloway vs. Pettis. December 10, 2016. Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada. Max Holloway stopped Anthony Pettis by TKO (body kick and punches) at 4:50 of round three to win the interim UFC Featherweight Championship — becoming the first fighter ever to finish Pettis in the UFC. His 10th consecutive win extended a streak dating back to a 2013 loss to Dustin Poirier.
Pettis missed weight at 148 lbs (3 lbs over the 145 lb championship limit) and was fined 20% of his purse. Only Holloway was eligible to win the title. The interim FW championship had been created after Conor McGregor’s FW title was stripped on November 26 for inactivity.
The card’s standout secondary fight: Cub Swanson def. Doo Ho Choi by UD in a featherweight war that won 2016 Fight of the Year and was later inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s Fight Wing. Donald Cerrone KO’d Matt Brown with a head kick at 0:34 of round three.
Contents
Quick Stats
Date: December 10, 2016
Venue: Air Canada Centre (now Scotiabank Arena), Toronto, Ontario, Canada (UFC’s return to Toronto since UFC 129 in 2011)
Main Event: Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis — Interim FW Championship (Pettis missed weight 148 lbs; only Holloway eligible to win title)
Result: Holloway def. Pettis — TKO R3, 4:50 — first to finish Pettis in UFC; 10th consecutive win; interim FW champion
Backstory: McGregor stripped of FW title Nov 26 for inactivity; Aldo became undisputed champion; Holloway won interim to set up unification vs. Aldo (UFC 212)
Co-Main: Donald Cerrone def. Matt Brown — KO (Head Kick) R3, 0:34 — WW
Notable: Cub Swanson def. Doo Ho Choi UD — 2016 Fight of the Year; inducted UFC Hall of Fame Fight Wing 2022
Bonuses: FOTN: Swanson/Choi ($50k each); POTN: Holloway + Lando Vannata ($50k each)
The Build-Up
The original headliner was Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson 2 for the LHW Championship. Cormier pulled out on November 25 with an injury; the bout was rescheduled to UFC 210. Without a main event, the UFC elevated Holloway vs. Pettis from the main card to the headline slot and attached the interim FW title to it.
Holloway had won 9 consecutive fights in the FW division since 2013. Pettis— the former LW champion — was transitioning to featherweight. His weigh-in miss at 148 lbs was 3 lbs over the 145 lb FW championship limit, costing him eligibility to win the title. Holloway’s subsequent callout of Jose Aldo for a unification bout set up the FW division’s next chapter.
Main Event
Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis — Interim FW Championship
Rounds one and two were competitive, with Pettis landing his trademark kicks and Holloway countering with combinations. Holloway landed body shots consistently, attacking Pettis’s midsection through the first two rounds.
Round three: Holloway landed a body kick and followed with punches. Pettis went down and could not continue. The stoppage came at 4:50. Holloway was the first fighter to finish Pettis in the UFC Octagon. Post-fight, Holloway called out Jose Aldo: the unification was set.
Co-Main Event
Donald Cerrone vs. Matt Brown — Welterweight
Cerrone and Brown traded through two and a half rounds before Cerrone landed a devastating head kick at 0:34 of round three. Brown was dropped and the fight was waved off. Cerrone’s head kick KO was one of the cleanest finishes on the card.
Full Results
Preliminary Card
Rustam Khabilov def. Jason Saggo — Sub (Guillotine) — R1 — LW
Lando Vannata def. Mehdi Baghdad — TKO — R? — LW; POTN ($50k); Vannata highlight-reel performer
Kelvin Gastelum def. Tim Kennedy — TKO — R3, 2:45 — MW; Gastelum dominant; stuffed takedowns; 64 sig strikes
Emil Meek def. Jordan Mein — Decision (Unanimous) — R3 (29-28 x3) — WW; Meek UFC debut
Main Card
Cub Swanson def. Doo Ho Choi — Decision (Unanimous) — R3 (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) — FW; FOTN ($50k each); 2016 Fight of the Year; inducted UFC Hall of Fame Fight Wing 2022
Donald Cerrone def. Matt Brown — KO (Head Kick) — R3, 0:34 — WW; Co-Main; devastating head kick finish
Interim FW Championship — Main Event
Max Holloway def. Anthony Pettis — TKO (Body Kick + Punches) — R3, 4:50 — Interim FW Championship; POTN ($50k); 10th consecutive win; first to finish Pettis in UFC
Bonuses & Awards
Fight of the Night: Cub Swanson vs. Doo Ho Choi — $50,000 to each fighter. (2016 UFC Fight of the Year; inductee UFC Hall of Fame Fight Wing 2022)
Performance of the Night: Max Holloway + Lando Vannata — $50,000 each.
Records & Milestones
Max Holloway — 10th consecutive UFC win (dating to 2013); first to finish Anthony Pettis in the UFC; interim FW champion. He unified the FW title at UFC 212 in June 2017 by stopping Jose Aldo in round three.
Cub Swanson vs. Doo Ho Choi — won 2016 Fight of the Year and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s Fight Wing in April 2022. Considered one of the greatest FW fights in UFC history.
Legacy & Impact
UFC 206’s main event is transitional: Holloway’s interim title win set up the FW division’s defining unification with Aldo the following year. But the night belongs to Swanson and Choi. Their three-round featherweight war — awarded Fight of the Year and inducted into the Hall of Fame — is the kind of fight that gets people into MMA.
Cerrone’s head kick KO of Brown at 0:34 of round three is the most efficient version of what makes Cerrone compelling: explosive, finish-oriented, never boring. Gastelum’s dominant TKO of Kennedy confirmed his WW-to-MW transition was working.
FAQ
Why could only Holloway win the title at UFC 206?
Anthony Pettis weighed in at 148 lbs, three pounds over the 145 lb featherweight championship limit. As a result, Pettis was ineligible to win the interim title. Only Holloway, who made weight at 145 lbs, could claim the belt. Pettis was fined 20% of his purse, which went to Holloway.
Why was the interim FW title created for UFC 206?
Conor McGregor was stripped of the UFC Featherweight Championship on November 26, 2016, due to inactivity in the FW division after winning the LW title at UFC 205. Jose Aldo was elevated to undisputed FW champion. The interim title was created to fill the division while Aldo’s status was sorted.
Was Cub Swanson vs. Doo Ho Choi at UFC 206 historically significant?
Yes. Swanson vs. Choi won the 2016 UFC Fight of the Year award and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s Fight Wing in April 2022. The fight featured three rounds of non-stop featherweight action, with Choi landing significant shots throughout before Swanson won by UD (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Who did Holloway fight next after winning the interim FW title?
Holloway faced undisputed FW champion Jose Aldo in a unification bout at UFC 212 on June 3, 2017, in Rio de Janeiro. Holloway won by TKO in round three to become the undisputed UFC Featherweight Champion.
What was the original main event planned for UFC 206?
The original headliner was a LHW title rematch between Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson. Cormier withdrew with an injury on November 25, forcing the UFC to elevate Holloway vs. Pettis to main event status and add the interim title. The Cormier-Johnson rematch was rescheduled to UFC 210 in April 2017.
References
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