Max Holloway has staked his claim to the UFC featherweight championship.
The 25-year-old native of Waianae, Hawaii finished former UFC and WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis late in the third round of their UFC 206 main event on Saturday night at Toronto's Air Canada Centre. The time was 4:50 of the third round.
By winning the 148-pound catchweight matchup, Holloway became UFC interim featherweight champion. He'll presumably meet Jose Aldo, who was promoted to full UFC featherweight champion status when Conor McGregor was either stripped of or relinquished the belt, depending on whom you're asking, a couple weeks ago.
For his part, Holloway made it clear he wanted to clear up matters with Aldo, calling him out for UFC 208 in Brooklyn in February.
"Where's Jose Waldo?" said Holloway, playing off a pun. "Let me know when you find him."
The bout's eventuality seemed to be determined in the opening round, when Pettis broke his right hand on a punch. The wily Pettis managed to make a fight of it well into the third round, doing the best to use his kicks to stay in the fight.
But fighting a competitor as dynamic as Holloway is a tall enough task even with two good hands. And Holloway poured it on in the third, landing kicks and punches and eventually forcing Pettis to cover up for the finishing flurry.
With the victory, Holloway has now won 10 in a row. He's the sixth fighter in UFC history with a double-digit win streak, joining Anderson Silva, Georges-St Pierre, Jon Jones, Demetrious Johnson and Royce Gracie.
Pettis missed weight on Friday, meaning he would not have won the belt if he defeated Pettis. The former champ said it would be his last featherweight fight.
"Give him credit, he stood with me and he held the belt," said Pettis (19-6), who was finished for the first time in his career. "Too much to make the cut. I depleted my body. I can't make 45 weight cut."