30 greatest UFC fighters of all time

18. Max Holloway

Max Holloway entered the UFC in 2012 with only four fights and drew Dustin Poirier as his first opponent. After starting 3-3, including losses to Poirier and a slightly less popular Conor McGregor, Holloway caught fire, going on a 13-fight win streak that included Andre Fili, Clay Collard, Akira Corassani, Cub Swanson, Charles Oliveira, Jeremy Stephens, and Ricardo Lamas. Holloway challenged former lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis, for the interim title and then unified it with a win against featherweight king Jose Aldo. Holloway had Aldo’s number in both fights, his output and pace changing the structure of the division.

In 2019, Holloway rematched Poirier for the interim lightweight title but was unsuccessful and returned to defend his title against Brian Ortega, Frankie Edgar, and Alexander Volkanovski. We’ve seen the Holloway/Volkanovski dance three times now, with Volkanovaski claiming victory every time, seeming to be Holloway’s kryptonite.

It’s unsure what Holloway will have to do to get another crack at the featherweight champion, but his pace and output during his title reign make him a fighter you always want to see, just go watch Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez or Calvin Kattar for a reminder. Holloway is 19-7 with the UFC and has 10 performance bonuses. Holloway was just booked to face the upstart Arnold Allen in April.