UFC 206 Cheat Sheet: Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis

— -- UFC 206 was originally supposed to feature a light heavyweight title fight between Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson, but the UFC was forced to scramble to find a new main event when Cormier was injured. The card is now headlined by a featherweight bout between Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis. The effects of this switch rippled all the way to Dublin when? Conor McGregor was forced to "relinquish" his official featherweight title to make room for future title fights. ESPN.com takes a closer look at this pay-per-view event by breaking down what's at stake, projecting who will win and providing quotes and statistics on each fighter.

(Editor's note: Pettis missed weight for the 145-pound interim featherweight title fight, coming in at 148. Dana White has said that the fight will still be an interim featherweight championship opportunity for Max Holloway, but no such opportunity will be granted to Pettis.)

Max Holloway (16-3) vs. Anthony Pettis (19-5)

Odds as of Dec. 9 (Courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook):

Pettis:? 170
Holloway:? -190

Holloway on Jose Aldo: "I don't know why you're crying over spilled milk"

For the first time in 2016, the UFC's featherweight division will be on the move again in Toronto -- or, as Holloway describes it, the "murky water" of the weight class will finally start to clear.

While many would blame the division's logjam on Conor McGregor, who recently "relinquished" the title after 11 months without a defense, Holloway believes current champion Jose Aldo is just as responsible.

Aldo won an interim title at UFC 200 in July, but threatened to walk away from the sport entirely a few months later when the UFC didn't book him a rematch against McGregor. Holloway, meanwhile, was doing everything he could to get a fight with Aldo, which never materialized.

"I was supposed to fight him at UFC 205 and 206," said Holloway, who is on a nine-fight winning streak. "I don't know what the hell that guy is doing.

"I can understand his frustration a little, but at the end of the day, the UFC moved on. The guy is complaining and crying, and it wasn't going to change the company's mind. Sometimes you've got to go get your money, pick up and move on. I was sitting there trying to get big fights, and this guy is crying over spilled milk. Prove you're the best in the world and fight me. But I'm not worried about that s--- now. I'm worried about Anthony Pettis on Dec. 10."

Holloway, out of Waianae, Hawaii, says he hopes an interim title would mean a fight with Aldo would be guaranteed next, but that will have to wait for now. He stopped short of accusing Aldo of ducking him this year, but hopes Aldo's head is finally in the right place now that McGregor is no longer tying up the division.

"I don't know if it's getting easier for guys to duck fights or not," Holloway said. "I guess it's up to how big your name is, how much you're worth, what opportunities you get. The UFC has been doing big money fights lately, and that's great. I'm not one to hate. All I know is this fight gets me one step closer to greatness."

Pettis defends interim title shot

There are several reasons behind the UFC's decision to hastily introduce an interim featherweight title bout to this event (before Pettis missed weight), but this basic fact remains: If original headliner Daniel Cormier had not suffered an injury and fallen out of UFC 206, this fight wouldn't have been scheduled to be an interim title fight.

The whole situation seems a little forced, especially when you consider Pettis is just 1-3 in his past four fights and has one win at 145 pounds. Regardless, Pettis says he absolutely deserves to be fighting for the title.

"I don't care what anything thinks or what their opinions are on this," Pettis said. "I know how much time I've put in, and it's worked out to my favor."

For his part, Holloway wasn't disappointed in the matchup, saying, "People are talking about, 'He only has one win in this division.' This guy's name is big. The m-----f---er was on a Wheaties box. He was toasted as one of the best in the world. I want to show I'm one of the best in the world, so this is the kind of fight I want."

A former lightweight champion, Pettis intended to return to the 155-pound division once he has accomplished his goal of becoming a two-weight UFC champion.

Given Pettis' plans to return to lightweight, Aldo's desire to eventually fight McGregor again and McGregor's insistence that he's still the featherweight champion, this division still has a lot of questions surrounding it -- but for now, the only question Pettis is interested in answering centers around the interim title.

"This means we're getting the next official shot at the title," Pettis said. "Those title shots don't come easy in this sport, and this is a fight that guarantees, for one of us, the next official shot."

Breakdown: Anyone here enjoy a good ol' fashioned standup fight? What's that? Everyone does? Yes, I thought so.

Hey, maybe this fight does go to the ground at some point. Twenty-five minutes is a long time, so it's certainly a possibility. But the bread and butter of this matchup figures to take place on the feet.

If one of these guys shoots on the other, it's likely because he is losing that battle.

Holloway fights young. He brings a healthy pace, and he's willing to take risks. He fights like someone who has never lost, which is understandable, considering he's riding nine straight wins. He's always getting better in very visible ways, including improved use of his height and reach and improved takedown defense.

The space that usually benefits Holloway, however, plays into his opponent's strengths here. Space is an open canvas for Pettis to create in. His struggles have usually come when opponents crowd him and don't play at a kickboxing distance. Holloway is an intelligent fighter. Expect him to play with the range and get in Pettis' face at times.

Both seem capable of fighting five rounds.

Pettis's future at 145 uncertain after missing weight

In fairness, Pettis's future in the 145-pound division was already a little uncertain -- even before he missed weight.

The former lightweight champion dropped down in weight class this year after a three-fight skid at 155 pounds. Even as he spoke about possibly winning an interim featherweight championship though, he didn't hide the fact that a return to lightweight division was in the cards.

There's "unfinished business" for Pettis in the lightweight division, in rematches with Rafael dos Anjos, Eddie Alvarez and Edson Barboza -- the three men responsible for his losing streak.

Once Pettis achieved his goal at 145 pounds, it was back to 155 -- and he never made it exactly clear what that goal was.

It's quite possible it consisted of just two more fights. Saturday's interim bout against Holloway and then a shot at the official title against Jose Aldo. Had he won both of those, we might have had another McGregor situation on our hands -- as in, a featherweight champion who's probably prefer the lightweight belt.

Now that Pettis has missed weight with an interim title on the line, his future is even less certain. An interim title represented the closest thing to a guarantee he'd fight Aldo next. Without that, there's no guarantee Pettis will even remain in this division.

Prediction: Holloway via TKO, third round

You make the call: