Greatest featherweight fights in UFC history ranked from quick Conor McGregor KO to Hall of Fame brawl and Alexander Volkanovski

The UFC neglected smaller fighters for years before creating new bantamweight and featherweight divisions in 2010.

Since then, several massive stars, including MMA legend Conor McGregor, have emerged from the 145lb division, which has become one of the UFC’s strongest.

Fighters at the weight have put on many epic scraps over the past 14 years and it’s led to their fights becoming eagerly anticipated by fans.

As long-time featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski prepares to defend his title against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298, talkSPORT.com has ranked the five best 145lb bouts of all time.

5. Jose Aldo vs Conor McGregor (2015)

It may be one of the shortest fights in UFC history, but this featherweight unification clash simply had to be on our list because of its importance to the sport’s history.

In recent years, Aldo and McGregor have built an unlikely friendship despite becoming mortal enemies in 2015 when the press tour to promote their matchup got out of hand.

McGregor, one of the greatest fighters in UFC history, spent months mentally torturing ‘Scarface’, and even stole his belt during a memorable UFC press conference before they finally got the chance to settle their rivalry the old-fashioned way.

On fight night, one shot was all ‘Notorious’ needed to end Aldo’s historic run as champion as he knocked the Brazilian out and catapulted himself into superstardom.

Arguably the most famous UFC KO ever happened at featherweight.

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4. Max Holloway vs Calvin Kattar (2021)

There are few better sights in MMA than Holloway in full flow.

‘Blessed’ may have been playing second fiddle to Volkanovski in recent years, but the rest of the 145lb contenders are finding out just how good he is.

Calvin Kattar received a merciless beating from Holloway in January 2021.

The former champion landed 445 significant strikes over five rounds to set a new single-fight UFC record. Meanwhile, his 744 significant strike attempts broke another single-fight record.

Holloway’s sizzling striking display left Kattar a bloody mess, and the commentators fawning over his boxing skills, which he thinks are the best in MMA.

The Hawaiian hit Kattar with a no-look punch while talking to the commentators, he said: “Count it up! I’m the best boxer in the UFC, baby!”

Kattar bravely made it to the final bell, unlike Aldo, Brian Ortega, and ‘The Korean Zombie’ who have all succumbed to Holloway’s relentless output over the years.  

A combination of Holloway’s skill and Kattar’s toughness made their fight of one the greatest spectacles in UFC featherweight history.

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3. Alexander Volkanovski vs Brian Ortega (2021)

The biggest compliment we can give Volkanovski is that he is so skilled that he didn’t find himself in a truly entertaining back-and-forth scrap until September 2021.

Volkanovski sliced through the featherweight ranks and became a champion with relative ease before squaring off with submission specialist Ortega at UFC 266.

‘The Great’ seemed to be on his way to another routine victory until the third round when Ortega dropped him and immediately locked up what appeared to be an inescapable guillotine choke.

But somehow the Aussie persevered and eventually made his way out, turning the tables on Ortega, as he beat him relentlessly for the rest of the round.

Volkanovski survived a couple more hairy moments to secure a unanimous decision victory and prove he has the heart to go along with his skills in a fight for the ages.

The 36-year-old has defended his belt three more times since then and is well on his way to rivalling Aldo, who is widely regarded as the best fighter in 145lb history.

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2. Yair Rodriguez vs Chan Sung Jung (2018)

Yair Rodriguez and Chan Sung Jung – otherwise known as ‘The Korean Zombie’ – were both in a tricky spot when they squared off against each other in November 2018.

Rodgriguez, who was touted as the next big thing at 145lbs, had just come crashing down to earth in a devastatingly dominant defeat to Frankie Edgar.

Meanwhile, Jung had recently returned got from a four-year MMA hiatus as he fulfilled his obligatory military service back home in South Korea.

Both men proved they were here to stay on fight night.

Rodriguez and Jung repeatedly rocked each other during a five-round brawl that left both of them covered in bruises and blood as the final seconds ticked down.

Rather than coast his way to a decision victory, ‘The Korean Zombie’ decided to close the show in style, and he made the grave mistake of rushing at Rodriguez.

With just one second left, Rodriguez ducked the incoming flurry and connected with a perfect, no-look elbow that sent Jung crashing face-first to the canvas.

The incredible come-from-behind KO is almost certainly the most unorthodox in UFC history and it was the perfect ending to an all-time great fight.

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1. Cub Swanson vs Doo Hoo Choi (2016)

The only featherweight fight in the UFC Hall of Fame tops our list.

Swanson and Choi aren’t superstars, like many of the other people who have made the cut, but they blew them out of the water by putting on an epic show in December 2016.

For 15 minutes, they traded massive blows at a frenetic pace that somehow never slowed despite the fact they were both visibly stunned by strikes at different times.

During these moments, both men’s instinct seemed to be to throw more punches, rather than back off and allow themselves some time to recover.

Swanson got a deserved decision victory, and the three-round brawl earned ‘Fight of the Year’ honours before being inducted into the ‘Fight Wing’ of the Hall of Fame six years later.

While they have received tons of plaudits for the scrap, neither man has looked the same since.

Swanson, who was the #4 featherweight in the world at the time, has lost six of his last 10 fights. Meanwhile, Choi, who entered the bout with a 14-1 record, has been plagued by injuries, suffered two brutal KOs, and hasn’t won a fight since.

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Honourable mentions: Jose Aldo vs Chad Mendes II, Dustin Poirier vs Chan Sung Jung, Max Holloway vs Brian Ortega, and Zabit Magomedsharipov vs Kyle Bochniak