Octagon Report’s Top 10 Fighters of the Decade Countdown: No. 9 Max Holloway
By (Buda Mendez/Zuffa LLC)
The decade is coming to a close. At OctagonReport.com we’ve pulled a company- wide ranking of the top 10 fighters of this decade. We start the countdown today and will reveal the complete ranking Dec 31. The 2010’s have been the most important decade in the history of Mixed Martial Arts. There has been more talent them ever before. This has increased the number of fights and historic moments inside the octagon. With more talent comes more attention. The sport has had more eyes than ever before. With so many fighters it is a difficult task to stand out amongst the best in the world. Today, we look back at the No. 9 fighter of the decade: Max Holloway
Max Holloway made his professional debut in September 2010. The decade ended on a low note for Max but losing his featherweight title at UFC 245 doesn’t take away his status of one of the greatest fighters this decade.
The former UFC champion had many memorable moments through the decade. The Hawaiian fighter had his ups and downs as many do in MMA. He is the only fighter to be featured on our rankings who lost his UFC debut. The loss came by Dustin Poirier in February 2012 at UFC 143. Max had a tough few years going 3-3 in his first six octagon performances.
The most notable loss came at UFC Fight Night 26 when he fought Conor McGregor on short notice. Max lost a unanimous decision and suffered an achilles injury. Something changes after this fight. Max would go undefeated for six years.
Max climbed the rankings the old fashion way. He went on a nine-fight consecutive win streak to get a shot at the interim featherweight title.
Max took out tough competition on his way up. He got past Cub Swanson, Charles Oliveira, Jeremy Stephens and Ricardo Lamas. On December 2016, at UFC 206, Holloway would finally get his shot at UFC gold. Max took on former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. Max would go on to become the UFC champion and the first to stop Pettis.
He was the first to accomplish many incredible feats in the UFC. At UFC 212 in June 2017, Holloway traveled to enemy territory to dethrone the legendary Jose Aldo in Brazil. He would then become the first to beat Jose Aldo twice.
Max was undefeated for several years and broke numerous records. He owns the all-time marks for most significant strikes landed in UFC history (2,071), is tied for most third-round finishes in UFC history (six) and is the featherweight record holder at 16 wins.
Recently, Max lost his UFC featherweight title in a close five round fight to Volkanovski. The loss will most likely take away some of the luster of Max’s run this decade. But as Max mentioned is his post-fight interview, “I’m only 28. I’m only getting better. I’ll be back”. Indeed, the former champion is still young has a long road ahead. There are many interesting match ups in the future and a potential rematch for the title.
