TORONTO (AP) – Max Holloway scored a knockout over Anthony Pettis 4:50 into the third round for the interim featherweight championship at UFC 206 on Saturday.
It was the first time a UFC belt was on the line for just one fighter. It became an interim featherweight title bout for Holloway when Pettis failed to make weight on Friday, coming in 3 pounds over the 145-pound limit. Pettis was fined 20 percent of his purse as a result.
During his post-fight interview in the octagon, Pettis said he broke his right hand with his first punch in the first round.
Earlier, Cub Swanson won a unanimous decision over South Korea’s Dooho Choi (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) in an entertaining featherweight bout.
Emil Meek got the main card started by defeating Canada’s Jordan Mein by unanimous decision (29-28) in hisUFC debut.
Toronto’s Misha Cirkunov forced Nikita Krylov to tap out at 4:38 of the first round with a guillotine choke. Cirkunov improved to 4-0 in UFC and moved into the top 10 at the light heavyweight level.
“I definitely belong in the top 10,” Cirkunov said. “I’m on an eight-fight win streak since I dropped my coach.”