Conor McGregor and Max Holloway have existed in the rarefied air of UFC featherweight champions throughout history.
In the UFC 276 Predictions Round Up with Paul Felder and Michael Chiesa, the two UFC veterans broke down their specific hierarchies of these four featherweight champions' resumes.
It was an especially important discussion considering the historical ramifications of this weekend's third 145 lbs title clash between Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway.
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Chiesa said:
"Within the UFC, we've only had four featherweight champions. So the Mount Rushmore of featherweights consists of [Alexander] Volkanovski, Max Holloway, your boy Conor McGregor, and to me, the consensus best will still always be Jose Aldo. A lot is on the line here."
Felder responded and said:
"All kidding aside, it's only been four. But I mean Conor, who's a double champ and the biggest superstar in MMA history, Jose (Aldo), the greatest of all time when it comes to this stuff and just a badass, Volkanovski, who has proven time and time again that he is a savage, And Max who has beat Jose twice."
The discourse largely centered around both seeing Aldo as the number one featherweight of all time.
Tremendous weight was given to the high stakes of this weekend's Holloway versus Volkanovski three-peat, though. To the extent where the winner can likely unseat Aldo as the greatest UFC featherweight of all time.
Max Holloway's redemptive pursuit of greatness
This trilogy bout between Holloway and Volkanovski could determine the all-time best featherweight in UFC history. So far, 'Blessed' has gone 0-2 against 'The Great' as Holloway aims to get his first W of the series.
The first fight saw Max Holloway lose his belt to Volkanovski via unanimous decision at UFC 245. The second clash saw Volk get his hand raised again, but this time via razor thin split decision at UFC 251.
Volkanovski is the only person Holloway has lost to at featherweight in close to nine years. The previous loss came to Conor McGregor during their August 2013 clash.
Holloway has garnered significant wins over Frankie Edgar, Cub Swanson, Charles Oliveira, Anthony Pettis, and Yair Rodriguez to name a few. Volkanovski has collected meaningful victories against Korean Zombie, Chad Mendes, Jeremy Kennedy, and Darren Elkins to name a few.
Both have mutual W's over Brian Ortega and Jose Aldo.
How do you feel about this featherweight Mount Rushmore? Give us your thoughts in the comments!