Max Holloway is set to make his welterweight debut at UFC 329 when he takes on a returning Conor McGregor on July 11 in Las Vegas. The former champions officially began their media obligations ahead of International Fight Week, with two major talking points dominating the conversation. While many fans continue to question whether McGregor will be affected by five years of inactivity following the broken leg he suffered at UFC 264, others are wondering how Holloway’s move up to 170 pounds will impact his performance.
Those concerns are understandable given that Holloway built the greatest years of his career at featherweight. Although he owns one of the most iconic knockouts in UFC history with his last-second finish of Justin Gaethje to capture the BMF title at lightweight, his legacy will always be tied to the 145-pound division. Ahead of UFC 329, Holloway was asked to rank the greatest featherweights in UFC history.
The question came after McGregor declared himself the greatest 145-pound fighter since Bruce Lee during an interview with Brett Okamoto. The Irishman argued that his accomplishments at featherweight have often been overlooked despite victories over some of the division’s biggest names. Holloway, however, had a different perspective.
Speaking at the UFC 329 pre-fight press conference, Holloway responded to McGregor’s comments by saying, “When people talk about this kind of stuff or stats or history, you want the fans and (media) to talk about it, not us. He needs to start picking a bone with you guys, not me. It’s not my fault.”
When it came time to name the greatest featherweights of all time, Holloway kept himself off the list despite his own remarkable resume. Instead, he focused on the division’s other four champions since 145lbs passed on from the WEC to the UFC with Jose Aldo as the champion back in 2010.
Holloway said, “I think Aldo. Aldo is my favorite. But I can see the case with (Alexander Volkanovski), for sure. I also see through the media’s eyes why, and I’m not going to write myself in there. If it’s four, it would have to be: Aldo, Volk, maybe you give a little bit more to Ilia (Topuria) because of what he did and the guys he fought. Conor just won it one time, then boom, disappeared, became a double champ.”
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Holloway’s assessment reflects one of the biggest debates in featherweight history. McGregor’s rise between 2013 and 2015 remains one of the most explosive runs the UFC has ever seen. He went a perfect 7-0 at featherweight and famously captured the undisputed title by knocking out Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds at UFC 194. However, he never defended the belt, opting instead to chase titles at lightweight and welterweight after citing increasingly difficult weight cuts.
By comparison, Aldo built his legacy through sustained dominance. After carrying the WEC featherweight title into the UFC following the organizations’ merger, the Brazilian defended the undisputed championship seven times against elite challengers including Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes, and Frankie Edgar. Holloway, meanwhile, established himself as another featherweight legend by defeating Aldo twice via TKO in 2017 at UFC 212 and UFC 218 to become the undisputed champion.
He successfully defended the title four times before losing it to Alexander Volkanovski, who went on to author a monster run of his own. The Australian defeated Holloway in all three of their title fights and amassed eight title-fight victories at 145 pounds before finally losing the belt to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298. Topuria then defended the featherweight title by becoming the first fighter to knock out Holloway at UFC 308 before vacating the belt to pursue lightweight gold, where he eventually captured a second UFC championship. Following Topuria’s departure, Volkanovski reclaimed the vacant featherweight title by defeating Diego Lopes at UFC 314 and later successfully defended it against Lopes once again at UFC 325, further strengthening his case as one of the greatest featherweights of all time.
Kshitiz Kumar Singh is a UFC Writer at NY Fights with over three years of experience in sports journalism and content creation. Known for his sharp storytelling and passion for combat sports, he has written in-depth features on stars like Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, and Ilia Topuria. Before joining NY Fights, Kshitiz worked as a UFC Editor at EssentiallySports while currently serving as a WWE Editor at FirstSportz. His admiration for legends like Georges St-Pierre continues to inspire his detailed and engaging MMA coverage. Whether he’s covering the Octagon or the squared circle, Kshitiz is committed to delivering accurate, high-quality content. Outside the world of sports, he’s a dedicated cinephile, often found practicing monologues from his favorite Al Pacino films, combining his love for cinema with storytelling.