Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Featherweights

3. Max Holloway

Max Holloway had a style very similar to many other Hawaiians—that of a brawler who threw caution to the wind. However, he was just much better at it than anyone else has ever been. Holloway not only had crisp, fast, outstanding striking, but he seemingly never tired no matter how many blows he threw. He also had outstanding takedown defense and could easily get up in the event he briefly found himself on his back, as well as excellent BJJ. He was also immensely tall, at 5-foot-11, and big for the weight class. This irresistible combo was too much for the UFC featherweight division from 2014 until 2019, with the champion rattling off an incredible 13-fight winning streak in the UFC, none of which were close. This included submissions of Andre Fili and Cub Swanson, dominant decisions of Jeremy Stephens and Ricardo Lamas, a knockout of Anthony Pettis, two knockout triumphs over Jose Aldo to capture and then defend the featherweight crown, and lastly, a hellacious beating on Brian Ortega mercifully stopped after four rounds. Alas, while still only 27 years old, Holloway's young start and the blows he had received over his battles had added up, exacerbated by his extreme weight cuts. Holloway was soundly beaten over five rounds when he attempted to go up to 155 pounds against Dustin Poirier. He easily defeated a very old Frankie Edgar back down at 145 pounds to defend his belt, but the writing was on the wall for me. I fully expected Alexander Volkanovski to defeat him for the throne, and that's exactly what happened. Holloway was very far from washed-up, though. He impressed a lot of people, myself included, by arguably winning their intensely close rematch, and then administered another all-time vicious beating on elite contender Calvin Kattar before edging out the very talented Yair Rodriguez. Alas, there was no doubt in the rubber match against Volkanovski, who proved he was the better man. Holloway's career is likely far from over, but whether he wins or loses, he has proven to be one of the very greatest featherweights ever.

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