Dana White on his phone during UFC 274. Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Dana White was worried UFC star who absorbed 445 devastating strikes would ‘die’ post-fight

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Harvey Leonard | Last updated Jan 16, 2026 9:04 PM ET

Max Holloway delivered the most one-sided UFC performance of all time five years ago today.

MMA’s leading promotion has staged some dominant displays inside the Octagon. A few happened in 2025, including Khamzat Chimaev’s dominant win over Dricus du Plessis and Islam Makhachev’s shutout victory over Jack Della Maddalena.

Those were both much different triumphs than the kind achieved by Holloway on ‘Fight Island’ on this day, January 16, in 2021.

‘Blessed’ headlined the first UFC Fight Night on ABC alongside Calvin Kattar, and it is safe to say that one man exited the Octagon in Abu Dhabi significantly worse for wear.

Dana White feared for Calvin Kattar’s life as Max Holloway beat him to a pulp

Holloway’s split decision loss to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 251 marked the Hawaiian’s second straight defeat at the hands of the Australian and third loss in the space of four fights.

‘Blessed’ desperately needed to bounce back at the start of 2021, and he could not have done so more impressively.

Kattar was the victim of the fan favorite’s first win since a successful title defense against Frankie Edgar almost two years prior, as he was pieced apart for five rounds straight.

The brutal 25-minute beatdown was so violent that it broke numerous records, with the 445 significant strikes landed by Holloway being the most of all time. His total strike count of 447 is surpassed only by Chimaev’s recent effort against Du Plessis.

The featherweight legend’s blows were much more impactful than ‘Borz’s’ last year and left ‘The Boston Finisher’ unrecognizable, so much so that UFC president Dana White was fearing for Kattar’s life.

Footage released from the UFC after the fight showed White, Din Thomas, and Matt Serra watching the fight from cageside.

“I don’t know how much more f—— damage I want to see Kattar take, man,” a worried White said.

“Come on ref. He’s f—— wobbling,” he added during the fourth round onslaught. “He’s out on his f—— feet. Come on. Ref, stop this fight.”

In a later conversation with Hunter Campbell, White expressed concern that Kattar could die backstage.

“He took so much f—— punishment in this fight, I’m freaking out a little bit, man. I don’t like it.

“This reminds me of the kind of fight where the fight’s over, and then he walks in the back and f—— dies. I think that f—— Herb Dean should’ve stopped it in the fourth round. He was wobbling all over the f—— place. He should have stopped the fight right there.”

Max Holloway proved he was a BMF years before winning the belt

On that day in Abu Dhabi, Holloway left little doubt about his BMF credentials, and he later cashed in on being a part of that category with another emphatic performance.

After failing in his bid to return to the featherweight throne after outclassing Kattar, ‘Blessed’ turned his attention to the BMF belt.

Challenging for the symbolic title, Holloway knocked out Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April 2024 to become the third BMF champ in the promotion’s history.

After successfully defending it against the retiring Dustin Poirier last year, the Hawaiian will return to put the title on the line in a rematch with Charles Oliveira.

Holloway vs Oliveira 2 will headline UFC 326 in Las Vegas on March 7.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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