The main event of UFC 218 in Detroit saw the featherweight champion once again defeat Jose Aldo by third-round TKO, an eerily similar ending to their previous encounter in June. Not only was this Holloway’s first title defense, it was also the first time that the 145-pound belt has been successfully defended since Oct. 25, 2014.
That was Aldo’s seventh and the last win of his first UFC championship run. He would go on to drop the title to Conor McGregor, who moved up to lightweight without recording a single defense.
At the UFC 218 post-fight presser, Holloway expressed the importance of staying in his division for now and putting together a run of dominance to rival that of any MMA great.