The Featherweight Division in the UFC has produced some of the greatest fighters of all time throughout the years. Let's take some time to appreciate the cream of the crop. Before we get into the Mount Rushmore, meaning the top four without any order, I would like to just do an honorable mention. That honorable mention has to be Frankie Edgar, Edgar is an OG in the fight game and as a Featherweight from 2013-2019, he paved the way.
The first member of the UFC Featherweight Mount Rushmore is Jose Aldo. Aldo carried the division on his back before the new generation of fighters swept the division. For a while, Aldo remained King of the Featherweights. Aldo was unbeaten in the UFC until the next member of our Featherweight Rushmore made a name for himself. Aldo has 11 finishes in the Featherweight division. He is truly a legend.
Our next fighter is...you guessed it, The Notorious Conor McGregor. You can not make a list of Featherweight Greats without Conor. With seven wins and six, being KOs Conor McGregor's resume speaks for itself. As a Featherweight, he beat the likes of Dustin Porier, Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, and Max Holloway (only non-KO). A lot of people will say Conor is overrated and he isn't one of the greatest ever, while that may be true, you can not say he isn't one of the greatest Featherweights ever. Conor also shined a massive spotlight on not only the division but the sport itself.
Max Holloway is the Featherweight division. That loss to Conor was so early in his career, but it sent Max on a thirteen-fight win streak against some of the biggest names in the sport including Charles Oliviera, Anthony Pettis, and Jose Aldo twice. Max became champion against Pettis in an absolute classic. Max defended the belt three times till he was dethroned by the present and foreseeable future of the Featherweight Division.
Alexander "The Great" Volkanovski has been King of the 145 division for the past several years now since defeating Max Holloway a whopping three times. Not only has he defeated Holloway, but on his way to the belt Volk took down Aldo and Chad Mendes. Sound familiar? The difference between Volk and Conor is since winning the belt Volk defended it twice against Max, and once against Brian Ortega, and Chan Sung Jung respectively. Conor just went straight to the Lightweight division. Volk is now going up, himself to face off against Islam Makhachev at UFC 284. Can history repeat itself?
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