'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The UFC is primed to start 2021 with a bang. Later this month, three excellent fight cards are scheduled to take place at the Flash Forum on Fight Island aka Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The UFC’s January 2021 Fight Island extravaganza spans a week of festivities in the MMA world that starts on January 16th and ends on January 23rd.
Today, we examine the three UFC fights coming up in January that you can’t miss.
3. Max Holloway vs Calvin Kattar
Max Holloway is scheduled to face Calvin Kattar in a five-round featherweight bout that’ll headline the UFC Fight Island 7 event on January 16th, 2021.
Max Holloway is presently on a two-fight losing streak. Blessed lost his UFC featherweight title to Alexander Volkanovski via unanimous decision in December 2019 and then lost the rematch via split decision in July 2020. On the other hand, Calvin Kattar is riding a two-fight winning streak. Kattar defeated Jeremy Stephens via second-round KO in May 2020 and then bested Dan Ige via unanimous decision in July 2020.
A win for Holloway in this battle of elite strikers will show that he can bounce back from the back-to-back losses. Alternatively, a win for Kattar would earn him the next shot at the UFC featherweight title.
2. Neil Magny vs Michael Chiesa
UFC Fight Island 8 will take place on January 20th, 2021. The event will be headlined by a five-round welterweight bout between Neil Magny and Michael Chiesa.
Magny and Chiesa are both on three-fight winning streaks. Magny’s last fight was a unanimous decision victory over former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler in August 2020. And Chiesa’s last fight was a unanimous decision victory over former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in January 2020.
This matchup will likely feature highly technical striking exchanges and exciting ground scrambles. Its winner would move closer to the upper echelons of the UFC welterweight division.
1. UFC 257: Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor 2
UFC 257 will be headlined by a five-round lightweight bout between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor. McGregor bested Poirier via first-round TKO in their first fight that was contested at featherweight and took place in September 2014.
Poirier’s last fight was a unanimous decision victory over Dan Hooker in a lightweight bout in June 2020. Meanwhile, McGregor’s last fight was a 40-second TKO victory over Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone in a welterweight bout in January 2020.
They are extremely dangerous strikers and have criminally underrated grappling skills. This will be a war for the ages, with the winner getting a shot at the UFC lightweight title.
