Max Holloway has a lot on the line, and it isn’t a world title — not yet anyway.
The No. 5-ranked featherweight has made a UFC event in Hawaii possible with his seven-fight winning streak, which he brings with him against Jeremy Stephens in the opening bout of today’s UFC 194 pay-per-view event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
A win against Stephens will put Waianae’s Holloway (14-3, 10-3 UFC) in position to potentially headline a UFC card in Hawaii next year.
UFC President Dana White told reporters at a press conference last month that the UFC is working on a Hawaii event and “it will be announced soon.”
First, Holloway, who checked in at 146 pounds during Friday’s weigh-in, will need to get past Stephens (24-11, 11-0). It’s the only mismatch on the main card, with Holloway more than a 5:1 favorite against Stephens, who has lost two of his past three fights.
Holloway is ranked fifth in the UFC’s 145-pound division, with current champion Jose Aldo and interim champion Conor McGregor unifying the belts in the main event of UFC 194.
Any chance of a title shot with a win over Stephens took a hit on Friday night when the No. 2-ranked fighter at featherweight, Frankie Edgar, knocked out No. 3-ranked Chad Mendes in the first round of the Ultimate Fighter Finale held at the Cosmopolitan.
Edgar, who has lost to Aldo within the past two years, has won five consecutive fights and is a former UFC lightweight champion, beating B.J. Penn three times.
The UFC featherweight title is one of two belts on the line today. In the co-main event, middleweight champion Chris Weidman defends his title against Luke Rockhold.
Makaha’s Yancy Medeiros (11-3, 2-3), who made weight at 155.5 pounds on Friday, fights in a preliminary bout against John Makdessi (12-4, 6-4).
It’s the last of three UFC events held in Las Vegas on consecutive nights, beginning Thursday with UFC Fight Night.
Ewa Beach’s Kailin Curran won the opener on Thursday when she forced Emily Kagan to tap out to a rear-naked choke for a second-round submission victory.
