One chart shows that Max Holloway could leave the UFC with one of the most unbreakable records in all mixed martial arts.

 

 

The UFC featherweight fighter, one of the 145-pound division’s best in history, suffered the first knockout loss of his 34-fight career Saturday when trading blows with surging Spaniard Ilia Topuria. Holloway’s career has been defined by excellence as he’s shared the Octagon with Conor McGregor, Charles Oliveira, Jose Aldo, Dustin Poirier, Alexander Volkanovski, The Korean Zombie, and Justin Gaethje. Holloway is renowned for his elite MMA striking. He especially knows it, proclaiming himself the best boxer in the UFC. And, you know what? He kinda might be when looking at a chart that data scientist Nate Latshaw posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The chart shows significant strikes landed against career significant strike differential (strikes landed against strikes absorbed), a display of the top tier strikers in the UFC, and Holloway is on his own — by quite a distance.

Chart Shows Max Holloway May Have an Unbreakable Record
Max Holloway appears to be the best striker in the UFC, statistically-speaking
Max Holloway after knocking out Justin Gaethje
Should he have pipped Topuria at their UFC 308 headliner in Abu Dhabi, then Holloway would stake a claim for Fighter of the Year considering his incredible, buzzer-beating, highlight-reel knockout win over Gaethje earlier in the year. Instead, it brought to an end a three-fight winning run. Topuria’s victory does not put a dampener on an otherwise extraordinary career, as Holloway list of championships and accomplishments in MMA just goes on and on.

Here are just some of his feats:

UFC featherweight champion with three title defenses
Most finishes and most knockouts in UFC featherweight title fights (4)
The BMF champ
Fight of the Night (7) and Performance of the Night (5)

Longest winning streak in UFC featherweight division history (13) and tied for fourth-longest winning streak in UFC history
Most strikes landed in UFC featherweight division history (3,180)
Most significant strikes landed in a UFC fight ever (445 vs Calvin Kattar)
It’s not just championship titles for Holloway, but the way in which he’s gone about winning, throughout his career, as he becomes a statistical-impressive phenomenon. And to demonstrate that, Latshaw put together the chart below.

“Holloway is still far & away No.1 all-time in both significant strikes landed and significant strike differential in the UFC.”

It’s possible to see in the chart above that even strikers like Dustin Poirier, Frankie Edgar, Sean Strickland, Michael Bisping, and Joanna Jedrzejczyk, all post amazing stats. But then you see Holloway.

Tagging UFC commentator Jon Anik, Latshaw pointed to a seemingly unbreakable record.

Jon Anik, you referenced seemingly unbreakable records during the broadcast — these might be two more.

It is unclear when Holloway will return to the Octagon to try and extend some of these data points, but if and when he does fight, he would not be short of big-name options as fights against Oliveira, Dan Hooker for a BMF fight, Poirier, and even Dan Ige if UFC ever took a show to Hawaii, all seem like common sense options for both the UFC, and Holloway himself.