Max Holloway is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A renowned veteran of the sport, Holloway became the UFC Featherweight Champion when he defeated Jose Aldo in June 2017, before going on to defend the title three times. Since early 2022 he has been listed as #2 in the UFC featherweight rankings, and #15 in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings. As of July 2022 he has maintained a professional record of 23 wins and 7 losses, with 12 wins by stoppage.
Born and raised in Waianae, Hawaii, Holloway’s parents were heavy drug users, with his mother being a crystal meth consumer who later recovered, and his father being abusive and leaving when he was 11 years old. Despite this difficult background, Holloway found solace in training kickboxing at the end of his sophomore year, aged 15, and went on to win his first amateur bout in the sport after three days of training. Holloway’s early career was marked by his ability to incorporate a wide array of flying and spinning kicks, knees, and elbows into his striking game. As a youth, he gained recognition as the #7 featherweight prospect of 2012 in Bloody Elbow’s 2012 World MMA Scouting Report. Holloway made his promotional debut as an injury replacement for Ricardo Lamas at UFC 143 on early 2012. He went on to win his next three bouts in the UFC. Over a long and successful career in the octagon, he has fought such big names as Conor McGregor, Brian Ortega, Dustin Poirier and Yair Rodriguez, and has won Fight of Night on five occasions and Performance of the Night of four occasions.
Holloway has countless accolades to his name, including most wins in the UFC Featherweight division history with 18 and the longest winning streak in the division with 13. An incredibly skilled opponent in the octagon with tenacious drive to be one of the best contenders in the UFC’s history, Holloway still has much to prove over the coming years. A clear fan favourite, he has over 3 million followers on his Instagram profile.