UFC on ABC 1: Holloway vs. Kattar Picks and Predictions

The drought is over! After nearly a month of no fights the UFC is giving three fight cards in seven days. The first of which is this one. The very first UFC card on ABC. A lot of fun fights and some good bets to be placed. Let's get into it.

Joaquin Buckley vs. Alessio Di Chirico

This is some pretty unusual matchmaking from the UFC. Usually with unranked fighters they like to match people coming off wins against people coming off wins and people coming off losses against people coming off losses. Yet here we are, Buckley on a two fight KO streak is fighting Di Chirico who’s on a 3 fight win streak. It’s worth noting Di Chirico hasn’t been knocked out aside from his last fight which arguably should’ve been stopped, but hey what do I know? I’m not a ref. It’s a really easy call for this one. Buckley is just too damn fast and too damn strong strong for Di Chirico who arguably isn’t even UFC caliber. Expect another highlight reel finish for Buckley. If you're unfamiliar with Buckley, you've probably seen this move of his on your social media feed.

Buckley: -260

Carlos Condit vs. Matt Brown

The first fight card of 2021 has possibly the most fun welterweight matchup of 2013. Condit and Brown are well-established names that have had down careers for the past few years to say the least. Here's a wild stat: Carlos Condit is the first and only fighter in UFC history to fight two fighters who have died of a drug overdose and be revived. It has close to zero implications on either fighter's performance, but it's a wild stat regardless. In more relevant news, both Condit and Brown are all action fighters that have been turning in exciting performances despite their losses.

In what may be the last fight of his career, I see Matt Brown coming up short against Condit. While Carlos has looked largely mediocre the past five years, his fight with Court McGee was very promising. He was able to outwork him and show he’s still a solid fighter. Matt Brown’s sole path to victory is if he knocks Carlos out, which isn’t happening. Carlos’s only T/KO loss is to Tyron Woodley in 2015 when he got kicked in the leg so hard he tore everything in his knee. Aside from that, Carlos has much better movement and is a better all around fighter than Brown. Matt Brown can still pick up some wins but that’s only when the slow and plodding Ben Saunders and Diego Sanchez basically do their best punching bag impersonations. Carlos is going to cruise to a nice decision in this one utilizing his superior movement, varied striking, and stronger grappling skills.

Condit: -165

Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar

The main event has Max Holloway fighting the red hot Calvin Kattar. In what is Max’s first non-title fight since 2016, he’ll be looking to protect his position as the best featherweight in the UFC without a belt. Many people are high on Calvin and his boxing is definitely impressive but as a whole he doesn’t have any answers to Max’s fight style. Every time Holloway lost in the octagon it was because he was either out-grappled like in his loss against Conor McGregor or because his opponent dictated the pace of the fight like in his losses against Alex Volkanovski and Dustin Poirier . I don’t see Calvin being able to do either of these. He has a very crisp 1-2 punch combo and is a great finisher when he smells blood but Max’s cardio and varied striking will be too much for Calvin to overcome. Calvin is a tough guy and definitely elite but can he beat Max? I don’t think so. Holloway by Decision.

Holloway: -150