UFC Fighter of the Year: Max Holloway

Max Holloway’s year consisted of just two fights, both of which came against the same opponent. However, it’s who that opponent was and how the UFC Featherweight champion handled himself in those contests which makes him our “Fighter of the Year” for 2017.

Going into the year, there was little argument to Jose Aldo’s status as the greatest and most decorated 145-pound fighter in MMA history. Holloway (19-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) dismantled Aldo (26-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) not once, but twice, within a span of six months. Now there’s a legitimate debate over who is the best to do it in the weight class.

Holloway is a humble Hawaiian who also has the scrappy characteristics of someone born and bred in Waianae. He joined the UFC roster in February 2012 as a 21-year-old unknown. Now 26, Holloway is on a remarkable 12-fight UFC winning streak and doing things inside the octagon which set him apart from his peers. “The Blessed Era,” as he calls it, has truly arrived.

“It’s surreal,” Holloway tells Rolling Stone of his award. “When I found out I was like, ‘Holy shit. This is cool as shit.’ I’m not going to lie. There’s a bunch of fighters who could have been up for ‘Fighter of the Year’ – Robert Whittaker, Rose Namajunas, Demetrious Johnson. To be chosen, it’s in my nickname: I’m ‘Blessed.’

“It’s been a crazy year,” he continues. “I got to fight the greatest of all-time in my weight division not once, but twice. I was watching this guy when I was 16 years old when I first started kickboxing. I wanted to fight Aldo in a kickboxing match. A couple years later I came to MMA and wanted to fight him. 10 years later, I got to fight the man twice. It’s a lot of life goals I got to do. It’s hard to put in words.”

After beating Anthony Pettis by third-round TKO at UFC 206 in December 2016 to capture the interim UFC Featherweight title, Holloway’s 2017 campaign didn’t get started until the midway point of the year. He waited on a date for a title unification bout with Aldo, and after months of pestering the Brazilian with a clever “Where is Jose Waldo?” campaign, he finally got his chance to become undisputed champion.

It was no easy scenario, though. Aldo, who had only ever lost to UFC Lightweight champ Conor McGregor in a nearly 12-year stretch leading into the bout, got to fight on home soil in Rio de Janeiro when he put the belt on the line in the main event of UFC 212 on June 3.

Rather than being intimidated by the hostile territory, Holloway relished the situation. He viewed the opportunity to dethrone Aldo in front of his own people as an alpha move which would make victory all the more meaningful. He followed through with a scintillating title-winning performance.

The early stages of UFC 212 headliner were highly competitive, but there was never a moment Holloway appeared in danger. Aldo came out strong and was attacking his challenger at a successful rate. Holloway, however, never showed signs of being flustered, and displayed stellar poise as he calculated his fight-ending moment.

Aldo has historically displayed signs of slowing down in fights as the rounds progress. Holloway, meanwhile, has a deep gas tank which allow him to push the pace and deliver one of the highest striking output rates in UFC history. Holloway gained in confidence as the action wore on, and by the midway point of the third round, he was in complete control.