UFC 206: Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis headline Toronto card

UFC welterweight and commentator Dan Hardy looks ahead to this weekend's event in Toronto, headlined by an interim featherweight title bout between Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis

Holloway remains the only featherweight to have taken McGregor to the final bell (Getty)

The spotlight is again on the featherweight division this weekend, after the withdrawal of main event fighter and light heavyweight titleholder, Daniel Cormier. A groin injury forced the UFC to scrap the rematch with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and a new main event was created.

The co-main event was an intriguing three-rounder between former lightweight champion, Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, and surging Hawaiian, Max “Blessed” Holloway, but with the loss of the main event these two exciting featherweights will take centre stage. And if the pressure of the additional two rounds wasn’t enough, the UFC added an interim title into the mix.

With Conor McGregor stepping up a division and taking the belt from then-lightweight champion, Eddie Alvarez - making him the first ever two division champion - it tied up two belts and would leave at least one of the divisions a little stagnant. Without an active champion to aim for, it can make the battle for number one contender a little frustrating for the top few guys.

An agreement was made in which McGregor would vacate his title and Aldo’s interim title, which he won in a title shot eliminator bout with Frankie Edgar at UFC 200, would be upgraded to the full world title, which Aldo held previously until McGregor starched him in thirteen seconds almost one year ago today. The winner of this weekend’s main event will now be assured a shot at Aldo and I’m sure McGregor will be looking forward to seeing what new challenges the division has to offer in a few months’ time.

For Holloway this is the pay off after an epic nine-fight win streak that began at the beginning of 2014. His last loss was a three round decision to McGregor in August 2013, and he is still the only fighter at featherweight to take the Irish superstar to the final bell. Since that bout he has improved dramatically between each outing, most recently out-striking Ricardo Lamas at UFC 199 to claim a unanimous decision and climb above him in the rankings. This will be his biggest test to date, as he faces the dynamic kicking skills and elusive footwork of Anthony Pettis.

A McGregor return to the featherweight division is not beyond the realms of possibility (Getty)

Having only fought once in his new weight class, it is a big ask for Pettis to take on a challenge like this. As a former lightweight champion though, he has already discovered the winning formula, and just needs to replicate it in his new division. His skills are unquestionable, from his ‘Showtime Kick’ against Ben Henderson in their first bout six years ago, to the fast armbar finish that won him the lightweight gold in their rematch three years later. He is young, talented and determined to reclaim his glory a division below his championship reign, but will have to go through a confident Max Holloway to get there.

With both of these fighters being predominantly strikers, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone attempts the smart option and takes the fight to the ground. Holloway has excellent takedown defence and is a fiend for chasing the neck of his foe, immediately after he has stopped their wrestling attack. He wraps the neck in a tight guillotine and stays clamped on as they try to scramble out of it. His third round submissions over Andre Fili at UFC 172 and Cub Swanson last year have made it clear that his skill set is ever broadening. Pettis on the other hand is very effective at fighting off his back and has racked up three wins by triangle, as well as that previously mentioned ‘Submission of the Year’ armbar over Henderson.

In recent fights he has been smothered by bigger, stronger wrestlers and has looked frustrated as he tries to keep the fight moving as he is being controlled on the ground. If given space to work he will immediately begin laying traps for his opponent to walk into. The one that comes to mind is his beautiful knockout of Joe Lauzon at UFC 144. After programming him to expect the straight left he then wrapped his shin around the side of Lauzon’s head as he brought his guard away to parry the expected left hand that never came.

Pettis' footwork is elusive and he is effective at fighting off his back (Getty)

He is an intelligent fighter and knows how to read his adversary well. If Holloway isn’t paying attention then Pettis will surely have something nasty in store. For the young Hawaiian he has to pressure Pettis from the opening bell. He has been known to get stifled when the range is closed and the pace is fast, and to keep him out of his comfort zone would serve Holloway well. Whether Pettis can replicate his success in this lighter division is yet to be seen, but Holloway is the perfect litmus test for the former lightweight king.

The supporting card for this featherweight clash has plenty more excellent match-ups. The new co-main event sees Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone continue his campaign in the welterweight division, against one of the toughest men in the weight class. Matt Brown has hit some tough competition of late, but his push forward style will test Cowboy’s footwork and Octagon awareness, as Brown will be aggressively stalking from the get-go. Unless Cowboy can catch him early and discourage that forward momentum, I see this being a gritty clinch battle as Brown tries to avoid the knees of Cowboy and land some good punches at close range.

We also have the veteran Cub Swanson taking on rising Korean “Superboy”, Dooho Choi. Sitting just outside the top 10, Choi has made a lot of noise in just three bouts in the UFC, stopping all of them in the opening round. Riding a 13 fight win streak with 12 knockouts, this unassuming young man could cause a real upset here. Swanson has been a member of the UFC ever since the introduction of the weight class back in 2011. He’s fallen just short when nearing the title and was close to calling it a day until claiming two victories in exhilarating style, against Hacran Dias and Tatsuya Kawajiri this year. If Choi is as good as people think he is, then Swanson has to keep his hands up and his chin tucked. I’m sure he is confident that the “Superboy” has bitten off more than he can chew by jumping so far up in the rankings for his next opponent.

Watch UFC 206: Holloway vs. Pettis live on BT Sport 2 from 1am GMT on Sunday 11th December, or catch the Early Prelims exclusively on UFC Fight Pass from 11:30pm GMT on Saturday 10th December