Max Holloway (6-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) has answered the UFC’s call.
The 21-year-old Hawaiian has agreed to step up on 10-days’ notice and will now face Leonard Garcia (15-9-1 MMA, 2-5 UFC) at this month’s UFC 155 event.
UFC officials today announced the new booking, which sees Holloway step in for an injured Cody McKenzie.
UFC 155 takes place Dec. 29 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main event is a heavyweight title fight rematch between champion Junior Dos Santos and ex-titleholder Cain Velasquez, which headlines the pay-per-view portion of the show.
Holloway, who turned 21 just two weeks ago, looks to earn his third straight UFC win. The featherweight was overwhelmed in his UFC debut, a February submission loss to Dustin Poirier. However, he’s since bounced back witha decision win over Pat Schilling and an impressive TKO finish of “The Ultimate Fighter 15″ cast member Justin Lawrence.
Holloway now fights for the fourth time in 2012.
Meanwhile, Garcia looks to snap a three-fight losing streak after falling short against Matt Grice, Nam Phan and Chan Sung Jung. Fighting under the Zuffa banner since 2007, Garcia is unquestionably one of the organization’s most exciting fighters, as witnessed by his six “Fight of the Night” bonus awards during his time in the UFC and WEC. Still, at 1-4 in his past five outings, “Bad Boy” is likely in need of a positive result.
With the change, the UFC 155 card now includes:
MAIN (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez – for heavyweight title
- Joe Lauzon vs. Jim Miller
- Tim Boetsch vs. Constantinos Philippou
- Alan Belcher vs. Yushin Okami
- Derek Brunson vs. Chris Leben
PRELIMINARY (FX, Facebook)
- Melvin Guillard vs. Jamie Varner*
- Brad Pickett vs. Eddie Wineland
- Erik Perez vs. Byron Bloodworth
- Michael Johnson vs. Myles Jury
- Leonard Garcia vs. Max Holloway
- Philip De Fries vs. Todd Duffee
