I'm going to edge it to Holloway but Ortega keeps on reeling off impressive performances and proving me wrong.
I hope they do, Max deserves a partner, it could have been Aldo but it seems his career is over now. In fact I'd love to see Ortega Vs Aldo.
I think Ortega has every advantage here tbh, I think he will actually out strike Max if he chooses to do so.
That's kind of a stretch. What are you basing the stand up advantage on? I mean..... Ortega is clearly capable on the feet but what makes you think he'll outstrike Holloway who's showcased dominate performances against several top strikers over the years? I think he'll probably be able to hang with Holloway standing up but out strike? That's a bit of a stretch based on the evidence.
Holloway relies on more on athleticism than striking skill imo. He is a cardio machine and very big for his weight. 5'11 69 inch reach. Ortega is 5'8 but also has a 69 inch reach. Ortega is slightly quicker than Max imo as well plus he's every bit the cardio machine Max is. Max has that relentless peppering style behind his range but I don't think he'll have that kind of advantage here. The intelligence displayed by Ortega in his last two fights tells me he is old school in terms of his dedication to training. The guillotine from the clinch was awesome, but that inside elbow against Edgar was something of pure beauty. Max always starts off looking like it's effortless arm punches but as the volume increases so does the hurt. But with Ortega having having equal reach plus slightly quicker hands I think he'll get to Max before Max gets to him. I could well be getting carried away with the hype and Max might stop him in 2 or 3. But Max has always been there to be hit and to be hit hard. Ortega is the most explosive fighter in the UFC today imo and I do think he'll do a number on the blessed one.
Yeah I give Oretega a good shot here but that might be getting carried away a tad bit, Holloway is the more dynamic and proven striker and thus we have to give him the striking advantage on paper. I'll have to rewatch some of Ortega's fights but I remember him looking more vulnerable standing up(Swanson and an earlier fight or two)
Well the beauty of UFC is the big fights always happen so we're going to find out who's correct very soon .
I agree and I cant wait to see it ,I knew Ortegas ever improving stand up and reach would be the deciding factor against Edgar but it just blew me away how he ended up doing it so fast.
It's kind of ironic because I had tipped Holloway to be the first to stop Edgar when their fight was first booked... It gets canceled and Ortega ends up doing it My gut instinct is that Edgar would have sustained a longer beating and been stopped in the 2nd or 3rd round after going down a few times had he and Holloway faced off as initially scheduled.