Source – To be honest, I thought that seeing Jose Aldo getting slept again would make me just as happy as it did the first time when Conor McGregor used that left hand and its touch of death to end Jose Aldo in 13 seconds…
And it did! On Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro, Max Holloway who entered the night on a ten-fight win streak TKO’d Aldo in the 3rd in their 5 round UFC Featherweight title fight. Max Holloway is the undisputed Featherweight champion of the world. Well deserved, well earned, and a long time coming really. But is he the “King” of the division?
Max Holloway won the interim Featherweight belt on December 10th, 2016 at UFC 206 in Toronto against Anthony Pettis. I attended that event and it was one hell of a night of fights considering the original main event was scrapped! In the end, Holloway headlined the card and didn’t disappoint. He disposed of Pettis and won the interim belt. Now, the UFC has handed out belts as often as Justin Trudeau takes a selfie, so no one cares. Holloway sure didn’t care and was only focused on Aldo, and man did he ever come through. (insert 2nd pic here)
Holloway is now on an 11-fight win streak and beat the man who created and owned the division for almost a decade. But he wasn’t the first. Conor McGregor was the first to dethrone Aldo, and if you were wondering when Holloway’s last loss was? Well, that was back in 2013, against none other than Mystic Mac…. Yes…. Conor McGregor.
Don’t get me wrong. Max Holloway is a SAVAGE. A kid from Hawaii with a badass attitude. It’s contagious. You wanna root for him every time he steps in the cage. He’s always willing to just straight-up throw down. If you don’t believe me, watch this clip of Holloway fighting Ricardo Lamas and pointing to the floor in the last 10 seconds and saying “let’s go bro” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUi12JXOqas.
Like I said, he’s a savage. But is he the King? Conor laid waste to Aldo in 13 seconds and also beat Holloway via unanimous decision, BUT that was four years ago. Both fighters have changed and are in different places. Hell, Conor is about to fight in a different sport completely. The knock on Conor is that he never defended his belt. He jumped up to 155 to fight for the title and dismantled Eddie Alvarez. And he hasn’t defended that belt either.
Holloway, however, is here to stay. He wants to defend his belt in his division. In reality, that’s what champions do. They say you’re not the champ until you defend your belt, so Holloway has the chance now to cement his legacy in UFC history. Trust me, this kid isn’t going anywhere, and if he isn’t already a star, he’s about to become one.
I don’t know if Conor will ever return to the 145-pound division. He’s busy making millions, driving a Rolls Royce and about to fight Floyd Mayweather. Needless to say, he’s got bigger things in his sights but IF he ever goes back to 145, I sure as hell hope it’s against Max Holloway, to decide once and for all who is the King.
