Max "Blessed" Holloway is a former UFC Featherweight Champion with a professional MMA record of 23 wins and 7 losses. He is currently ranked No.12 in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings and No.2 in the UFC Featherweight rankings. Holloway holds a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Max Holloway beat Arnold Allen on April 15, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 44 via a unanimous decision.
Max Holloway got into combat sports at age 15 when he started training in kickboxing and won his first amateur fight after 3-days of training. He made his amateur debut in 2010 at Destiny MMA - Destiny MMA - Maui No Ka'oi 2. He won the fight in the 3rd round via TKO( punches).
Holloway then turned professional in September 2010 and fought Duke Saragosa at X-1 - Heroes. He won the fight via unanimous decision. He then won his next fight in X-1 before getting a title shot at the X-1 Lightweight Championship against Harris Sarmiento. Holloway won the fight via split decision to become and then fought Eddie Rincon at UIC 4: War on the Valley Isle. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Holloway then joined the UFC in 2012 as an injury replacement for Ricardo Lamas at UFC 143.
Max Holloway made his UFC debut at UFC 143 against Dustin Poirier at Featherweight. He lost the fight in the 1st round via submission (triangle armbar). Holloway bounced back from the loss and went on a 3-fight win streak before losing consecutively to Dennis Bermudez and Connor Mcgregor.
Holloway bounced back from the loss and went on a 9-fight win streak during which he defeated the likes of Charles Oliveria and Jeremy Stephens. Following this, he fought for the interim UFC Featherweight Championship against Anthony Pettis at UFC 206.
Holloway won the fight in the 3rd round via TKO (kick to the body and punches). He then fought Jose Aldo at UFC 212 to unify the Featherweight Championship. Holloway defeated Jose Aldo in the third round via TKO to become the new UFC Featherweight Champion. He then rematched Aldo at UFC 218 and TKO'ed him in the third round.
He was scheduled to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov on short notice at UFC 223 for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship but was pulled from the card by the New York State Athletic Commission due to the weight cut.
Holloway then defended his featherweight Championship at UFC 231 against Brian Ortega. He then moved up to Lightweight to fight Dustin Poirier for the interim UFC Lightweight Championship at UUFC 236. Holloway lost to Poirier in a close fight via unanimous decision. Holloway went back to featherweight to defend his title against Frankie Edgar at UFC 240. Holloway defeated Edgar via unanimous decision and then fought against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 245 for his 4th title defense. Holloway lost the fight against Volkanovski via a unanimous decision to lose the championship. Holloway then rematched Volkanovski for the Featherweight title at 251. Holloway lost the fight in a controversial split decision loss.
Holloway then fought Calvin Kattar at UFC on ABC 1. He dominated Kattar in the fight and comfortably defeated him via unanimous decision. Holloway created the UFC record for the most significant strikes landed in this fight.
At UFC Fight Night 197 on November 13, 2021, Holloway fought against Yair Rodríguez and emerged as the winner through a unanimous decision. The bout was intense, earning both fighters the Fight of the Night award.
Max Holloway defeated Arnold Allen via a unanimous decision on April 15, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 44.
Max Holloway rematched Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 251 for the UFC Featherweight Championship. The first 2-rounds were neck to neck however, Holloway was able to edge out both as he landed a body-spinning kick with a head kick that stunned Volkanovski at the end of the first round. Similarly, at the end of round 2, Holloway connected with an uppercut that shook Volkanovski. Volkanovski edged out the 3rd round as both fighters exchanged strikes. But it was Volkanovski's low kicks that showed more effectiveness than Holloway's punches. Alexander took Holloway to the ground in round 4 but was unable to capitalize on it. He did the round based on more strikes. Similarly, Volkanovski seemed to edge out round 5 due to more strikes. The fight went on the judges' scorecard, and Max Holloway lost the fight in a controversial split decision.
Max Holloway fought Calvin Kattar at UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Kattar. Holloway outclassed Kattar throughout the fight and made it a one-sided battle. In the first round, he landed 56 to Kattar's 24. It got more one-sided when Holloway landed 89 strikes to Kattar's 20. Holloway decimated Kattar and outclassed him, as was exemplified in the 4th round, where he landed 141 strikes. The fight ended on the judges' scorecard, with Holloway winning.
Max Holloway set a UFC record for most strikes in a fight as he landed 445 out of the attempted 744 strikes.
Max Holloway fought Yair Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night: 197. Holloway took control of the fight in the first round with his boxing combos, while Rodriguez focused on the leg kicks. Holloway increased his volume in round 2 and connected being the aggressor while absorbing Yair's elbows during the pocket exchanges.
Holloway completely controlled the fight in the third round by knocking down Rodriguez and administrating aggressive ground-and-pound that Yair barely escaped. The back-and-forth continued in the fourth round, with Yair continuing with punches and Holloway absorbing them to land his combos and continuing to outwork Rodriguez on the feet and the ground. The last round saw Holloway continue with his outwork and Rodriguez attempting a creative acrobatic kick that backfired and led to Holloway getting his back that ended with a scramble and both fighters returning to their feet. The fighters ended the fight in a clinch as the bell rang to end the battle.
Holloway won the fight on the judge's scorecard via unanimous decision.
credit: MMA Fighting
*Last Updated On 16th April, 2023
Holloway is currently ranked #2 in the UFC Featherweight Rankings and #15 in the UFC Men's Pound for Pound rankings.
Holloway holds the record of most strike sin UFC history with 3217.
Max Holloway was just 20 years old when he made his UFC debut in 2012.
