Max Holloway

Holloway was reared in Waianae, a neighborhood infamous for fist fights, and was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He has Samoan and Native Hawaiian descent. Holloway’s mother Missy Kapoi used crystal meth but eventually quit, and both of his parents were severe drug users. When Max was just 11 years old, his abusive father, Mark Holloway, abandoned the family. After three days of training, he won his first amateur fight in kickboxing in 2007, near the end of his sophomore year, while fighting for Team Ruthless. 2010 saw his Waianae High School graduation.

Holloway was 19 years old and had a 4-0 record. Due to his ability to employ a variety of flying and spinning kicks, knees, and elbows in his striking game, he was recognized as the #7 featherweight prospect of 2012 in Bloody Elbow’s 2012 World MMA Scouting Report and was likened to former UFC and former WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. A split decision victory over former Strikeforce and WEC veteran Harris Sarimento on March 12, 2011, which earned him the lightweight title for the Hawaii-based X-1 promotion, served as the high point of his early career.

At UFC 143, Max Holloway made his UFC debut at featherweight against Dustin Poirier. He was submitted to end the first round of the fight (triangle armbar). After the defeat, Holloway recovered and went on a three-fight winning streak until suffering back-to-back defeats to Dennis Bermudez and Connor Mcgregor.

After the setback, Holloway recovered and embarked on a nine-fight winning streak, winning fights over opponents like Charles Oliveria and Jeremy Stephens. After that, at UFC 206, he faced Anthony Pettis for the interim UFC Featherweight Championship.

By virtue of a TKO in the third round, Holloway prevailed (kick to the body and punches). He subsequently challenged Jose Aldo to a fight at UFC 212 to unify the featherweight title. Jose Aldo was knocked out by TKO by Holloway in the third round, becoming Holloway the new UFC Featherweight Champion. At UFC 218, he later faced Aldo again, defeating him by third-round TKO.

He was abruptly slated to face Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship, but the New York State Athletic Commission removed him from the event because of the weight cut.

At UFC 231, Holloway then faced Brian Ortega to defend his featherweight title. To compete against Dustin Poirier for the temporary UFC Lightweight Championship at UUFC 236, he then stepped up to the Lightweight division. In a competitive bout, Holloway was defeated by Poirier by a unanimous decision.

In order to defend his championship against Frankie Edgar at UFC 240, Holloway moved back down to featherweight. Following his unanimous decision victory over Edgar, Holloway challenged Alexander Volkanovski for his fourth championship defense at UFC 245. In order to lose the title, Holloway was defeated by Volkanovski by a unanimous decision. At 251, Holloway fought Volkanovski once more for the Featherweight championship. Holloway was defeated in a contentious split decision.