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The first UFC show of 2022 goes down next weekend, and in the main event, two of the promotion’s most exciting featherweights are set to throw it down.
The promotions’s featherweight division is undoubtedly one of their most stacked, with plenty of talent inside and outside the top ten, but it’s also one of the most exciting to watch.
With its fighters blending speed and skill with power and explosiveness, the 145lbs division has arguably more exciting fighters than any other weight class in the promotion.
With that considered, here are the five most exciting featherweights to watch in the promotion right now.
#5. Max Holloway – Former UFC featherweight champion
Ranked as both the top contender in the featherweight division, as well as the No.7 pound-for-pound fighter in the entire company, it’s safe to say that Max Holloway is a tremendous talent inside the octagon.
A consummate striker who has labeled himself as the “best boxer in the UFC”, Holloway’s ability to chain combinations together is practically second-to-none in the promotion. The Hawaiian never takes a step backwards when he’s inside the octagon, and his non-stop striking attack makes him a nightmare for most opponents.
‘Blessed’ lost his featherweight title to Alexander Volkanovski back in December 2019 in somewhat of an upset, but after failing to regain it in a rematch, he’s gotten himself back on track with wins over Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez.
The Rodriguez fight, in particular, was one of the most exciting we’d been treated to in the promotion in a long time, with Holloway going to war with his Mexican opponent and trading wild strikes for five rounds, and both men suffering tremendous damage.
Incredibly, the fight saw the Hawaiian become the first fighter in the promotion's history with over 3000 strikes landed in total.
The only reason Holloway isn’t higher on this list is due to his lack of finishes in recent fights – ignoring doctor stoppages, he hasn’t finished an opponent since Jose Aldo in 2017 – but there’s no doubt that ‘Blessed’ is one of the most exciting fighters out there at 145lbs.
#4. Yair Rodriguez – UFC featherweight contender
When he first burst into the UFC back in 2014 after he won the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America, the likes of Joe Rogan were quick to label Yair Rodriguez one of the most exciting prospects to come through in a long time.
For the most part, those people were right. In the seven years that have followed Rodriguez’s octagon debut, he’s been responsible for some of the wildest fights in the featherweight division.
Sure, ‘El Pantera’ hasn’t fought for the featherweight title, and he’s suffered through lengths of inactivity due to injuries, spats with the promotion and various other issues. However, his UFC record of 8-2-1 stands up against anyone’s at 145lbs, and right now he’s ranked at No.3 in the weight class.
The aspect of Rodriguez’s style that makes him so exciting is clearly his willingness to throw crazy, low-percentage strikes with little to no regard for his own safety. However, unlike many of his peers, ‘El Pantera’ makes those strikes work – as he did in his knockouts of Chan Sung Jung and Andre Fili.
Whether Rodriguez can ever make it to the very top of the promotion is a question mark, but even if he doesn’t, every time he steps into the octagon he’s a must-see attraction.
#3. Giga Chikadze – UFC featherweight contender
One of the newer prospects to break through in the featherweight division in recent years, Giga Chikadze has quickly established himself as not only one of the best fighters in the division, but the most exciting too.
Living up to his nickname of ‘The Ninja’, Chikadze has used his wild striking style to put together a run of 7-0 in the octagon, and has steadily climbed the ranks to put himself on the cusp of title contention.
Prior to entering the UFC, the native of Georgia had an extensive kickboxing career, competing in the world-renowned GLORY promotion. And thus far into his UFC career, he’s used that striking experience to the best of his ability.
Most impressively, Chikadze has also broken the pattern when it comes to being able to finish his opponents. Facing lower-level foes in his early UFC days, the Georgian went the distance in his first four octagon appearances.
However, as the ability of his foes has increased, so has Chikadze’s ability to take them out. He finished both Edson Barboza and Cub Swanson – his toughest tests to date – inside the distance in 2021, defeating both men with savage kicks.
Next weekend sees Chikadze face off against Calvin Kattar in his second headliner for the promotion, and if he wins he could well find himself with a title shot. Even if he doesn’t, though, he’ll remain one of the most exciting 145lbers in the company.
#2. Chan Sung Jung – UFC featherweight contender
If you were to create a list of the most exciting fighters to watch in the UFC over the past decade, there’s probably a good chance that Chan Sung Jung would appear on there somewhere.
In fact, ‘The Korean Zombie’ has been thrilling MMA fans for well over a decade now, dating back to his time fighting in Japan and with the WEC. We’re now almost 12 years removed from his legendary clash with Leonard Garcia, and incredibly, he’s barely slowed down.
Since arriving in the UFC in 2011, Jung has been responsible for the first twister submission in the promotion’s history, he’s picked up knockouts over the likes of Frankie Edgar and Renato Moicano, and he’s been part of some truly insane fights.
Even when he’s been on the losing end of things, UFC fans have never failed to be invested in ‘The Korean Zombie’. In fact, some of his more legendary fights, such as his clashes with Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega saw him lose. It didn’t matter – he remained just as popular as ever afterwards.
To be frank, it’s easy to understand why. Whether he’s facing a high-level title contender or a lower-ranked opponent, Jung always comes into the octagon with the same style – looking to throw down with his foe until one man drops.
And while he doesn’t look to take as many shots as he once did, ‘The Korean Zombie’ remains one of the UFC’s all-time great brawlers, as well as one of the most exciting featherweights on the planet.
#1. Brian Ortega – UFC featherweight contender
Brian Ortega might’ve come out second-best in his two attempts to become featherweight champion – he was beaten by Max Holloway in 2018 and Alexander Volkanovski last year – but when it comes to producing sheer excitement in the octagon, ‘T-City’ is pretty hard to top.
Debuting in the UFC back in 2014, Ortega defeated his first opponent via rear naked choke and from there, he hasn’t really looked back. He put together a run of seven straight finishes, culminating in his knockout of Frankie Edgar – a win which made him the first fighter to stop the legendary former champion.
‘T-City’ hasn’t been quite so active in recent years following his loss to Holloway – a decision that was understandable given the insane damage he took in that fight.
However, he returned in 2020 with an exciting victory over Chan Sung Jung in what was ironically his first decision win in the promotion, a win that set him up for his title bout with Volkanovski last year.
And while he fell short against ‘Alexander the Great’, the fight was one of the UFC’s all-time great title bouts, with Ortega coming unbelievably close to finishing the Australian on two occasions with dangerous submission attempts.
With the ability to finish a foe from any position at seemingly any time – just ask the four opponents he finished in the final round – ‘T-City’ is a uniquely dangerous fighter, and it’s hard to argue with the idea that right now, he’s the UFC’s most exciting featherweight.
