This Featherweight throwdown could provide the next title challenger.

Another of the great non title fights featured on the stellar UFC 199 card, Max Holloway versus Ricardo Lamas is fight that could determine who will be next in line to fight for either the interim or unified Featherweight title. Both men are at the top of the division and are simply missing that signature win to put them back in title contention. Max Holloway has been on fire since dropping a decision to Conor McGregor back in August 2013. He has used his sophisticated striking based attack to outwork his opponents usually leading to a knock out or submission victory. If Holloway does have any weakness it would be his wrestling game, but even that “weakness” has become tremendously improved. At this point, Holloway is looking like a true enigma that many opponents will have trouble solving going forward. With an eight fight win streak it’s easy to argue for Holloway to receive a title shot ASAP, but he’ll have to prove himself worthy with a convincing victory over Lamas. After challenging for the Featherweight belt in February 2014, Ricardo Lamas has been up and down in his last few UFC bouts. Lamas is a talented wrestler with some decent striking. The problem he has in the striking realm is the fact that he either sometimes is a bit too gun shy or that he finds himself punching while he’s out of proper position which has resulted in some devastating results for him during his career. What he’ll need to do to overcome the streaking Holloway is use his wrestling and striking in conjunction constantly. That means shooting for takedowns and striking continuously through three rounds, chaining takedowns together and smothering Holloway’s offense. Lamas does have a good chance to win, but the kind of game plan he’ll need to succeed in this fight will prove to be too exhausting for the former title challenger to deal with. Expect Max Holloway to gauge Ricardo Lamas’ timing and eventually finish him with strikes in the second round. Which featherweight will rise to the occasion? Follow Generation Iron MMA on Facebook and Twitter. Also, be sure to share, like, and comment to show your support.

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.