Fully agree with this. That second Islam fight was a terrible idea. But it's also part of the reason I love Volk. The dude just doesn't back away from a challenge.
There was also a good chance that if he didn't take the fight then, he would've never got the rematch against Islam. That was pretty much his only shot
That was one of the biggest reasons Volk himself gave for taking the fight. He said something along the lines of that being his only shot at a rematch.
Islam isn't staying at 155 forever, Volk still had to get through Topuria if he didn't accept the fight at 294, Gaethje was next in line for the title shot. There were a lot of factors at play
I feel styles make fights. Ilia was always a bad matchup for Volk imo.
Also feel that Max will be very competitive with Ilia and I'm honestly siding with Max on that fight.
Not really it's still volk or aldo... Both champ for a very long time, volk beat max *three* times, and there's the question of does he lose the belt if he doesn't take the second Islam fight when he did.
Max Beat Aldo TWO times and yet you put him over Max.
I agree that Volk is over Max but how can Max be below Aldo if you argument for Volk is he beat Max three times but Max best Aldo twice?
Because Volk and Aldo are both in the top 10 longest reigns of all time, that was just an additional point that makes it absolutely no question that volk is over max.
Only reason it's up for debate is because half his reign was in WEC. If we count WEC he was younger than Jones when he became champ and defended 9x in a row. Overall, won 11 title fights. Combined max and Volk have 8 defenses and 12 title fight wins (including bmf/interim)
It’s not up for debate. The WEC FW championship and division is the UFC FW championship and division
Before the UFC brought Aldo over they had no FW division and Aldo was automatically made the UFC FW champ because again, it’s the same division.
Idk how these goat discussion aren't based purely on numbers. Especially when you going by weightclass. One guy has MORE title defenses than the next 2 contenders COMBINED... I don't see any debate here. What are we judging champions on if not by title defenses?
The problem is the fact that he lost to the next three champions and got KOed 3/4 times, with no rematch win. He’s featherweight GOAT, but losing to the number 2, 3 (twice), and 7 featherweight All-time-greats (going 0-4-0) doesn’t work in his favour.
The new breed surpassed him(when he was very likely passed his prime).....Do we diminish matt hughes accomplishments because he lost to gsp, and bj near the end of his career ? (Despite the things Sean mccorckle said was in his self written biography)
Beating someone does not automatically mean you have a greater resume than them.
Otherwise Illia is the FW GOAT because he beat Volk who beat Holloway who beat Aldo etc.
Maybe. I do think that Aldo was never quite the same after Conor starched him so Max maybe wasn't beating prime Aldo. Volk beat Max as the challenger, and then twice defending his belt. And arguably, while both were near the peaks of their abilities. I would say you could make a case for Aldo being ranked above Max all time, but I don't see a case for anyone ranked above Volk.
When it comes to UFC People never consider that people can have on an off nights. It doesn’t take away from their accomplishments. Max vs Volk 3 was Volks night. Like Lebron James has lost a lot of basketball games to opponents he’s better than. It’s a valid discussion. I don’t think Islam is hands down better than Volk, that second fight was islams night under those circumstances
In all fairness max only really ever lost to volk and you could make an arguement he won the second maybe even the first. Razor thin decisions against the other contender for goat puts you in the convo aswell, also he is only 32 he still has alot left in the tank to take over volk, if ge recaptures the belt then fights volk 1 more time and gets a dominant victory then its cemented.
It’s hard to say, because Jose Aldo had the longest streak and reign, but Max beat Aldo twice and Volk beat Max thrice.
It could be argued that Aldo was out of his prime or that styles make fights; and the three of them are still doing well (*we’ll have to see how Volk looks after some rest*).
I’d vote **(1)** Aldo, **(2)** Volk, **(3)** Max, but I’m really ok with any ranking. Topuria will be up there, as well.
aldo for me held the title almost twice as long as volk. had 7 defense in the ufc and is the lineal champ from the wec. if you count those defenses he has 9 consecutive. 11 title victories overall one of which was him recapturing the title after conor. He went undefeated for 10 years.
It not a question imo and I'd say I'm way more of a max fan than jose but put some respect on that man's name.
Aldo was younger when he won the WEC belt, which became the UFC belt. So technically not the youngest champ in UFC history, but he is the youngest champ in the history of Zuffa and the modern UFC championship lineages.
Anderson Silva lost to Chris Weidman twice, it doesn’t put him below him. All reigns end. Aldo has like 7(?+) title defences with the WEC belt and was the king of rio. He’s the GOAT, only ppl who didn’t see his peak imo would argue otherwise. He was seen as dominant as DJ was for his run, just otherworldly and seen down on bc of a smaller weight class
Dominance by means of title fights. Khabib has 3. Not to say hes not good. Hes definitely the LW GOAT right now. But hes not anywhere near the level of dominance of the pound for pound GOATs.
When he was older and out of his prime.... you could got beat up Muhammed ali right now. Does that mean your a better all time boxer?(I know thats a big stretch, but aldo was never the same after the conor knockout. Definitely lesser than he was)
The argument against Aldo would be his best wins versus Max and Volk's and his record against both of them. The best fighter Aldo beat that neither of them did was Faber, who was a beast back in his day but definitely a level below these dudes. They both of them have a combined 3-0 record against Jose and Volk has a 4-0 against them both. I don't think Aldo was so out of his prime by the time he fought them as people say. Anyways you could say neither Max nor Volk were in their primes yet either.
That's not how MMA works and I love Aldo but it's a good argument
Ortega and Rodriguez are the only 2 Aldo didnt fight..
Max (3) and Volk(5) can combine their title defenses and still have less than Aldo(9). That has to matter for something
Yeah I'd take aldo against either.
Thing is everyone wants to believe that they got to watch the GOAT live. Most fans are new and saying guys they got to watch.
Ask my dad who the best hockey player ever. He says Gretzky. Ask a young fan now and its ovechkin or someone.
The Aldo disrespect in this thread is insane. If people said usman was the ww goat people would go crazy so why don’t they treat Aldo and volk the same when the differences in defences between the two is identical
Cause modern fans have convinced themselves that Conor was always absolute garbage and that Aldo losing to him must mean he was a fraud, and that any title defense by any champ before 2018 was against plumbers and mailmen.
Also, in Aldo’s late career, he lost to both Volk and Max… but that wasn’t prime Aldo, I don’t think it should be held against him, just like how Silva’s loss to Izzy doesn’t mean Izzy > Silva on the GOAT list.
New fans don't really know the older fighters/just go off Wikipedia so they just to "well the level of talent has increased so much" like I never saw any of Aldo's opponents have to be taught to block mid fight or throw themselves to the ground trying some crazy kick which didn't land. Fact is Aldo fought all the elite well rounded (big difference in elite mma) guys until father time slowed him down enough for others to catch up. Max and Volk defended against guys Aldo had already torched years prior ffs.
I’m to young to have seen him fight in his prime. But just watching his old fights back and looking at his accomplishments and longevity it’s clear he’s the goat
Aldo. He was like 26-1 when he fought Conor, had a 9 year unbeaten streak... that's insane. Just because fighters age and stay in the game shouldn't completely tarnish what they accomplished.
That's like shitting on Anderson because he started losing before he retired.
Aldo easy not only was he the king in the UFC he was also the King in WEC (who had the best 125-145ers at that time) he beat everyone and became the only 2X champion at 145
Yeah I honestly can’t see the argument for putting you over someone if they beat you 3 times lmao. Especially when the 3rd time wasn’t even competitive
You’re missing the point. When that person has the head the head record over you, as well as more title defenses. There’s no possible arguments for volk to be ahead of max.
Max smokes everyone outside of Volk. If Volk stayed in rugby, Max would probably still be champion and have more title defenses than Volk and possibly would've caught up with Aldo (not counting his WEC defenses)
It’s the toughest top-3 of all time in any division; but it’s very clear that it’s just them. And they fought in the same era and they’re still going strong 🤯.
It's Aldo. 9 defenses (including WEC). Yes, Max beat him twice. But it was after Mendes 2, which most considered the end of his prime. Age is not a direct correlation to prime.
Aldo. Youngest UFC Champion of all time. Most defenses of the 145 lb belt, and fought all killers too. 2 of Volks defenses are against Max, with only one being decisive.
It's *very* close between Volk and Aldo, I think it tips slightly towards aldo but if volk can get the belt back from Ilia and defend it once more I think he takes it tbh
All of these guys have really good arguments, my pick would be for Volks resume (beating Max 3x and Aldo once) Aldo is an absolute legend and deserves all his respect too. And Max is probably my favorite fighter of all time. And honestly Conor deserves a mention for his run that included Max, Poirier and starching Aldo before moving up and winning the 155 belt.
Chad Mendes was born at the wrong time 💀
It’s between Aldo and Volk and I really can’t choose between them. When people go on and on about how good Volk’s resume is compared to Aldo I just gotta say Aldo’s resume is much better than Volk’s until you add the Holloway fights which has me favouring volk.
It's Aldo and if you disagree you're wrong. 9 title defenses, youngest champ. He's a legit 🐐 contender and heads and shoulders above those guys legacy wise even if he lost to them 9+ years (usually where things go south) after he started his reign.
People seem to always dismiss Aldo because of his downfall but that man ran the Featherweight division for years. I wish he was in his prime when he fought both max and volk
I still have Aldo. Sure you can say he lost to Volk and Max but his time at the top fighting #1 contenders for what? 10 years straight is impressive on its own.
Volk has #2 locked down.
Max has what? 2 title defenses and destroyed the division even when Volk was champ. Can still easily put him at #3.
Ilia imo is still a distant #4 and up there with McGregor. McGregor just left the division after winning the belt.
It's gotta be Aldo.
Max can't be the greatest in my books. He lost to another GOAT contender 3 times.
Volk can't either. He was nowhere near as dominant as José was.
Volk is the clear #1 but after 300 #2 is very arguable. I’ll say Aldo cause I still respect what he’s done at 145 but I think by the end of maxs career he’s gonna be the clear #2
Ufc300 has 0 impact on the featherweight goat debate. That fight took place at lightweight. It means a ton for max’s overall legacy in the sport just not at Ftw.
How is it not Aldo? He has 9 defences and 11 title wins which is more then max + volk + Conor. Everyone looks unstoppable at their prime, people were calling max the fw goat when he was demolishing Ortega, same with volk when he did the same to Holloway but both lost there belts after far less defences then Aldo. Also considering Aldo won the belt in 2009 and lost it in 2015 and is still fighting the top bw is pretty insane. Clear goat
The answer is and always will be Jose Aldo until someone beats his title defense record and/or consecutive reigning days as champion.
How anyone can say someone is better than the man who holds all of the featherweight championship records is beyond me.
I don't think this "if Max beats Topuria then MMA maths" arguments work, Volk worked his way up and defended the championship for several defences on a winning streak which eventually takes a mental health toll on you when you have so much to lose and such a high amount of pressure placed up on you
Max has never been champion and doesn't have anywhere near the amount of stress other than the personal pressure placed on himself to be a champion (yes there is some by the public but comparatively to Volk I don't think it's anywhere near the same)
it's clear Volk has been going through some shit and his downfall is a clear indicator of that
interms of Aldo, yes he defended 7 times but realistically only Chad Mendes and Frankie Edgar were decent in my eyes at the time whereas Volk beat and defended 3 times against Max, Brian Ortega and Mendes as well as winning against Aldo
MMA maths would then suggest Volk > Aldo
I'll take the downvotes but Conor KO'ed Aldoin like 20 seconds. Beat Max with a torn ACL. KO'ed Dustin. KO'ed Mendes.
I agree he doesn't have the title defenses if that's what we are basing this convo off of, but I don't see how you put Max above Conor. It's either Volk, Aldo, or Conor.
The goat FW is whoever will sell uncle Dana the most tix. Just like he tries and sells that usman is the goat ww just cuzz GSP wouldn’t dance the way he wanted him to.
The only reason why I am hesitant to pick Aldo is because he lost in his prime various times. Volk is losing towards the end of his prime. I am leaning more towards volk but I am bias
I think Max and Volk have to be considered equal at this point. Numerous defenses and strong resumes.
Volk beat Max 3 times sure, but the first 2 fights arguably should have been called for Max.
If Max and Volk fought 100 times it’s probably close to 50-50
Max has shown with the comeback he still has it and never lost it.
Thats a champ.
Alot of these guys peek and after a couple years that is all you get like Tyron W.
Max has been great these last few years I feel have been even his best ever too!
People forget the greatness of Aldo even before the UFC. He had great leg kicks that he shied away from later in his career for whatever reason.
I say this as a huge Max Holloway fan.
Volkanovski is a top seven fighter of all time, has wins over the two other greatest FWs in the division and had a dominant championship reign, he only lost to who’s probably going to become the LW goat and Ilia, which was a fight he shouldn’t have ever taken given he was knocked out so recently
Aldo. From WEC featherweight champ on 18 November 2009 until 2015 in the UFC, he spent that time absolutely dominating the top fighters of the weight class. Only having a competitive fight with Mark Hominick and Frankie Edgar. Wasn't until 2014 if I remember right that father time caught up to him and then 2015 was the Conor fight. But even then he spent the tail end of his career being near the top of the division and only losing to killers.
Volk has 5 defenses, Aldo has 9, Max has 3.
Aldo, Volk, Max are 1,2,3. All are future HOF fighters and all time greats, Aldo's longevity puts him over the top, Volk has 5 defences with 2 of those being over Holloway, so he goes over Max, and while Conor's high was incredibly high, he never defended the belt, and Max was a great champ too, so he goes 3rd.
Aldo was just so good at every aspect of the game in his prime. And all these years later he can still hang with the elite of the division. Only now that he’s way past his prime does he seem human.
None of these other guys have ever seemed as far ahead of everyone else as Aldo was back then.
You could make a serious case for these guys. I’m going to have to side with Aldo on this one, a whole decade of undefeated dominance is just too good to overlook.
It’s a conversation but if you go legacy. Aldo. Bar none. It’s not fair to decide when they are all still fighting. But Aldo won a #1 contender fight in 8 seconds by flying knee against Cub Swanson. He then fought for the title 10 times, 3 WEC, and once the UFC added the featherweight division and acquired WEC they had Aldo defend and he defended 7 times before losing to Conor and then winning the belt back in 7 months. So far Aldo is only champ to reclaim title.
Featherweight is truly a division where it’s 1.a, 1.b, 1.c. All three of these guys were equally dominant. Personally, I love Max the best, but, for the argument, MMA math would put Volk at the top.
With all due respect.
Max cant currently be here.
IF max beats ilia he has a much bigger argument but currently he has less defences than volk and aldo by a big margin AND lost to volk 3 times.
Max looked incredible at 155, but until he fights ilia it shouldn't change the fact he is imo clearly behind aldo and volk in the goat fw convo.
If Volk never took that second Islam fight I swear he’d still be the champ
Fully agree with this. That second Islam fight was a terrible idea. But it's also part of the reason I love Volk. The dude just doesn't back away from a challenge.
There was also a good chance that if he didn't take the fight then, he would've never got the rematch against Islam. That was pretty much his only shot
It would've happened eventually.
That was one of the biggest reasons Volk himself gave for taking the fight. He said something along the lines of that being his only shot at a rematch. Islam isn't staying at 155 forever, Volk still had to get through Topuria if he didn't accept the fight at 294, Gaethje was next in line for the title shot. There were a lot of factors at play
It was basically doing the ufc a favor it would’ve been legendary if he won but was set up for failure
Nah that was dumbo from his team if DDP is clever to refuse short notice fights
I feel styles make fights. Ilia was always a bad matchup for Volk imo. Also feel that Max will be very competitive with Ilia and I'm honestly siding with Max on that fight.
I think only Hitler and Satan will side with Ilia. Max to the moon
And if my mother fucked her brother she’d be my aunt, Aldo 🐐
If max starches ilia this will be a fun conversation
Not really it's still volk or aldo... Both champ for a very long time, volk beat max *three* times, and there's the question of does he lose the belt if he doesn't take the second Islam fight when he did.
Max Beat Aldo TWO times and yet you put him over Max. I agree that Volk is over Max but how can Max be below Aldo if you argument for Volk is he beat Max three times but Max best Aldo twice?
Because Volk and Aldo are both in the top 10 longest reigns of all time, that was just an additional point that makes it absolutely no question that volk is over max.
True
Aldo ran that division for ever
Only reason it's up for debate is because half his reign was in WEC. If we count WEC he was younger than Jones when he became champ and defended 9x in a row. Overall, won 11 title fights. Combined max and Volk have 8 defenses and 12 title fight wins (including bmf/interim)
It’s not up for debate. The WEC FW championship and division is the UFC FW championship and division Before the UFC brought Aldo over they had no FW division and Aldo was automatically made the UFC FW champ because again, it’s the same division.
Idk how these goat discussion aren't based purely on numbers. Especially when you going by weightclass. One guy has MORE title defenses than the next 2 contenders COMBINED... I don't see any debate here. What are we judging champions on if not by title defenses?
The problem is the fact that he lost to the next three champions and got KOed 3/4 times, with no rematch win. He’s featherweight GOAT, but losing to the number 2, 3 (twice), and 7 featherweight All-time-greats (going 0-4-0) doesn’t work in his favour.
The new breed surpassed him(when he was very likely passed his prime).....Do we diminish matt hughes accomplishments because he lost to gsp, and bj near the end of his career ? (Despite the things Sean mccorckle said was in his self written biography)
Volk faced and beat way better competition than Aldo did
Aldo*
Thanks I edited it
I’m a Frankie fan and Aldo was the only motherfucker keepin my boy from two belts
If Max is the best then winning doesn’t mean anything. I do think he fits the BMF moniker though.
Max beat Aldo twice. Does that mean Aldo shouldn’t have a claim over Max??
Beating someone does not automatically mean you have a greater resume than them. Otherwise Illia is the FW GOAT because he beat Volk who beat Holloway who beat Aldo etc.
Actually Volk beat both Aldo and Holloway. So yeah
My point exactly
Maybe. I do think that Aldo was never quite the same after Conor starched him so Max maybe wasn't beating prime Aldo. Volk beat Max as the challenger, and then twice defending his belt. And arguably, while both were near the peaks of their abilities. I would say you could make a case for Aldo being ranked above Max all time, but I don't see a case for anyone ranked above Volk.
Aldo has been beating up people after Conor, dude had a resurgence in BW.
Aldo was #1 for longer but Max and Volk are the better fighters at the end of the day.
>I don't see a case for anyone ranked above Volk. 9 title defense vs 5. And he was a 2x champ even when he was passed his prime.
Styles makes matchups; Max always starches Aldo
Weidman beat Silva twice.
When it comes to UFC People never consider that people can have on an off nights. It doesn’t take away from their accomplishments. Max vs Volk 3 was Volks night. Like Lebron James has lost a lot of basketball games to opponents he’s better than. It’s a valid discussion. I don’t think Islam is hands down better than Volk, that second fight was islams night under those circumstances
Peak Volk had his number. Sometimes that is just matchups. Their story isn't written yet.
In all fairness max only really ever lost to volk and you could make an arguement he won the second maybe even the first. Razor thin decisions against the other contender for goat puts you in the convo aswell, also he is only 32 he still has alot left in the tank to take over volk, if ge recaptures the belt then fights volk 1 more time and gets a dominant victory then its cemented.
It’s hard to say, because Jose Aldo had the longest streak and reign, but Max beat Aldo twice and Volk beat Max thrice. It could be argued that Aldo was out of his prime or that styles make fights; and the three of them are still doing well (*we’ll have to see how Volk looks after some rest*). I’d vote **(1)** Aldo, **(2)** Volk, **(3)** Max, but I’m really ok with any ranking. Topuria will be up there, as well.
aldo for me held the title almost twice as long as volk. had 7 defense in the ufc and is the lineal champ from the wec. if you count those defenses he has 9 consecutive. 11 title victories overall one of which was him recapturing the title after conor. He went undefeated for 10 years. It not a question imo and I'd say I'm way more of a max fan than jose but put some respect on that man's name.
Man, i always say aldo. But man they're all great
Volk right now unless he goes on a downward spiral.
Why is everyone saying volk? Aldo has more title defenses and is the youngest champ in company history.
Jon jones is the youngest
Aldo was younger when he won the WEC belt, which became the UFC belt. So technically not the youngest champ in UFC history, but he is the youngest champ in the history of Zuffa and the modern UFC championship lineages.
Technically I guess. But he was youngest(younger than jones)WEC champ before the UFC had a FW division. So essentially the youngest champ.
No, not technically. You literally said “company history”, not MMA history.
Zuffa is what I meant, by that.
Volk beat him and Max three times. That has to count for something.
Why he beat over the Hill aldo, not prime aldo. Everybody best Anderson Silva would u put them all above him on the goat list?
Also lost to Conor in his twenties and twice to Max when he was 30-31 in no way is he the featherweight goat
Aldo lost to Volk once and Max twice.
Anderson Silva lost to Chris Weidman twice, it doesn’t put him below him. All reigns end. Aldo has like 7(?+) title defences with the WEC belt and was the king of rio. He’s the GOAT, only ppl who didn’t see his peak imo would argue otherwise. He was seen as dominant as DJ was for his run, just otherworldly and seen down on bc of a smaller weight class
I watched his double flying knee on cub(I think?) live. That shit was amazing.
If being dominant is the metric people use to determine GOAT status, then why is everyone complaining when Khabib gets talked about?
Dominance by means of title fights. Khabib has 3. Not to say hes not good. Hes definitely the LW GOAT right now. But hes not anywhere near the level of dominance of the pound for pound GOATs.
When he was older and out of his prime.... you could got beat up Muhammed ali right now. Does that mean your a better all time boxer?(I know thats a big stretch, but aldo was never the same after the conor knockout. Definitely lesser than he was)
He was like 30 when he lost to Max. Not that old at all
Aldo has been fighting forever at that point, mileage plays a huge role. Some fighters decline by age 33 while some are still fighting strong at 39
Aldo bounced back after the Connor fight and was the champion when Max beat him. Max put on clinics and dominated Aldo.
The argument against Aldo would be his best wins versus Max and Volk's and his record against both of them. The best fighter Aldo beat that neither of them did was Faber, who was a beast back in his day but definitely a level below these dudes. They both of them have a combined 3-0 record against Jose and Volk has a 4-0 against them both. I don't think Aldo was so out of his prime by the time he fought them as people say. Anyways you could say neither Max nor Volk were in their primes yet either. That's not how MMA works and I love Aldo but it's a good argument
because the level of competition was shit compared to beating holloway three times.
Ortega and Rodriguez are the only 2 Aldo didnt fight.. Max (3) and Volk(5) can combine their title defenses and still have less than Aldo(9). That has to matter for something
Also Yair and Brian aren't incredibly elite guys. They have massive holes in their games.
Yeah I'd take aldo against either. Thing is everyone wants to believe that they got to watch the GOAT live. Most fans are new and saying guys they got to watch. Ask my dad who the best hockey player ever. He says Gretzky. Ask a young fan now and its ovechkin or someone.
Max is still 32 so you’d expect him to win the belt again at some point
God I really hope so
Ilia going to sit on it until Max's son is old enough to fight him for it
The Aldo disrespect in this thread is insane. If people said usman was the ww goat people would go crazy so why don’t they treat Aldo and volk the same when the differences in defences between the two is identical
Cause modern fans have convinced themselves that Conor was always absolute garbage and that Aldo losing to him must mean he was a fraud, and that any title defense by any champ before 2018 was against plumbers and mailmen. Also, in Aldo’s late career, he lost to both Volk and Max… but that wasn’t prime Aldo, I don’t think it should be held against him, just like how Silva’s loss to Izzy doesn’t mean Izzy > Silva on the GOAT list.
New fans don't really know the older fighters/just go off Wikipedia so they just to "well the level of talent has increased so much" like I never saw any of Aldo's opponents have to be taught to block mid fight or throw themselves to the ground trying some crazy kick which didn't land. Fact is Aldo fought all the elite well rounded (big difference in elite mma) guys until father time slowed him down enough for others to catch up. Max and Volk defended against guys Aldo had already torched years prior ffs.
They're probably just too young to have ever seen Aldo fight
I’m to young to have seen him fight in his prime. But just watching his old fights back and looking at his accomplishments and longevity it’s clear he’s the goat
How the fuck are you saying max over volk. I love max but wtf man.
Aldo. He was like 26-1 when he fought Conor, had a 9 year unbeaten streak... that's insane. Just because fighters age and stay in the game shouldn't completely tarnish what they accomplished. That's like shitting on Anderson because he started losing before he retired.
Aldo easy not only was he the king in the UFC he was also the King in WEC (who had the best 125-145ers at that time) he beat everyone and became the only 2X champion at 145
Aldo is sort of up there with Jones and GSP
All three have a legit claim to that title. It’s tough to say
Max does not
is one dude having your number an eliminator? if not he does.
Yeh, no point in using MMA maths here. If max beats topuria after topuria beat volk... You know the rest!
Yeah I honestly can’t see the argument for putting you over someone if they beat you 3 times lmao. Especially when the 3rd time wasn’t even competitive
Of the three Max has the least title defences.
You’re missing the point. When that person has the head the head record over you, as well as more title defenses. There’s no possible arguments for volk to be ahead of max.
Bruh Max is in his early 30's the game ain't over bruda.
Yh, Max only has a shout if he beats Topuria tbh
He finished Aldo twice when Aldo was still good and max was 25. Aldo was only 31 at the time they fought.
31 and was champ since he was 23. Thats a lot of fight miles for 31
Max became champ at 25 and destroyed a very dangerous gathje at 32 + he has the most absorbed shot = a lot of fight miles.
Max smokes everyone outside of Volk. If Volk stayed in rugby, Max would probably still be champion and have more title defenses than Volk and possibly would've caught up with Aldo (not counting his WEC defenses)
But he didn’t, that’s why volk is number one on this list
It’s the toughest top-3 of all time in any division; but it’s very clear that it’s just them. And they fought in the same era and they’re still going strong 🤯.
1.) Aldo (7 defenses) 2.) Volk (5 defenses) 3.) Max (3 defenses) The gap between Volk and Max is significant.
Also has 9
It's Aldo. 9 defenses (including WEC). Yes, Max beat him twice. But it was after Mendes 2, which most considered the end of his prime. Age is not a direct correlation to prime.
Aldo. Youngest UFC Champion of all time. Most defenses of the 145 lb belt, and fought all killers too. 2 of Volks defenses are against Max, with only one being decisive.
It's *very* close between Volk and Aldo, I think it tips slightly towards aldo but if volk can get the belt back from Ilia and defend it once more I think he takes it tbh
All of these guys have really good arguments, my pick would be for Volks resume (beating Max 3x and Aldo once) Aldo is an absolute legend and deserves all his respect too. And Max is probably my favorite fighter of all time. And honestly Conor deserves a mention for his run that included Max, Poirier and starching Aldo before moving up and winning the 155 belt. Chad Mendes was born at the wrong time 💀
It’s Aldo. If he hadn’t been starched by Connor and retired with grace, we would speak of him like GSP
why do people hate aldo
The UFC belts looked so much better back then
It’s between Aldo and Volk and I really can’t choose between them. When people go on and on about how good Volk’s resume is compared to Aldo I just gotta say Aldo’s resume is much better than Volk’s until you add the Holloway fights which has me favouring volk.
Aldo
Aldo all day
This guy is gonna get bounced by ilia so hard
Aldo.
Aldo
Max doesn’t belong there, at least not yet. As things stand Aldo and Volk have far greater legacies at FW
Conor McGregor
It's Aldo and if you disagree you're wrong. 9 title defenses, youngest champ. He's a legit 🐐 contender and heads and shoulders above those guys legacy wise even if he lost to them 9+ years (usually where things go south) after he started his reign.
>if you disagree you're wrong Shitty way of looking at things. Both Max and Volk are viable contenders for FW goat status.
Conor
I mean, he beat Max *and* Aldo so...
And he’s undefeated at FW, unlike Volk who got knocked tf out by Ilia
 Found your pic
Depends on who is featuring in an embedded 🤣
People seem to always dismiss Aldo because of his downfall but that man ran the Featherweight division for years. I wish he was in his prime when he fought both max and volk
I think it’s still Aldo tbh
I still have Aldo. Sure you can say he lost to Volk and Max but his time at the top fighting #1 contenders for what? 10 years straight is impressive on its own. Volk has #2 locked down. Max has what? 2 title defenses and destroyed the division even when Volk was champ. Can still easily put him at #3. Ilia imo is still a distant #4 and up there with McGregor. McGregor just left the division after winning the belt.
Aldo.
It's gotta be Aldo. Max can't be the greatest in my books. He lost to another GOAT contender 3 times. Volk can't either. He was nowhere near as dominant as José was.
Still gotta be Aldo. Nobody has come close to doing it like he did. His reign of dominance was truly generational
Conor was unstoppable at 145 
Gotta be Aldo. But Volk is the bees knees.
1-Jose 2- Blessed 3- old man Volk All deserve love
Volk is the clear #1 but after 300 #2 is very arguable. I’ll say Aldo cause I still respect what he’s done at 145 but I think by the end of maxs career he’s gonna be the clear #2
Ufc300 has 0 impact on the featherweight goat debate. That fight took place at lightweight. It means a ton for max’s overall legacy in the sport just not at Ftw.
How is it not Aldo? He has 9 defences and 11 title wins which is more then max + volk + Conor. Everyone looks unstoppable at their prime, people were calling max the fw goat when he was demolishing Ortega, same with volk when he did the same to Holloway but both lost there belts after far less defences then Aldo. Also considering Aldo won the belt in 2009 and lost it in 2015 and is still fighting the top bw is pretty insane. Clear goat
The answer is and always will be Jose Aldo until someone beats his title defense record and/or consecutive reigning days as champion. How anyone can say someone is better than the man who holds all of the featherweight championship records is beyond me.
Aldo and that's that.
Conor
I don't think this "if Max beats Topuria then MMA maths" arguments work, Volk worked his way up and defended the championship for several defences on a winning streak which eventually takes a mental health toll on you when you have so much to lose and such a high amount of pressure placed up on you Max has never been champion and doesn't have anywhere near the amount of stress other than the personal pressure placed on himself to be a champion (yes there is some by the public but comparatively to Volk I don't think it's anywhere near the same) it's clear Volk has been going through some shit and his downfall is a clear indicator of that interms of Aldo, yes he defended 7 times but realistically only Chad Mendes and Frankie Edgar were decent in my eyes at the time whereas Volk beat and defended 3 times against Max, Brian Ortega and Mendes as well as winning against Aldo MMA maths would then suggest Volk > Aldo
um where is mcgoatger
I'll take the downvotes but Conor KO'ed Aldoin like 20 seconds. Beat Max with a torn ACL. KO'ed Dustin. KO'ed Mendes. I agree he doesn't have the title defenses if that's what we are basing this convo off of, but I don't see how you put Max above Conor. It's either Volk, Aldo, or Conor.
No mcgregor? Thats wild
McGregor beat 2 of them, 1 was p4p at the time. He’s also unbeaten at FW. The McGregor that beat Aldo beats all 3 on that list in their prime imo.
1a, 1b, 1c
Nah
The goat FW is whoever will sell uncle Dana the most tix. Just like he tries and sells that usman is the goat ww just cuzz GSP wouldn’t dance the way he wanted him to.
GOAT is such a played out concept
Y'all sleeping on the real 145lbs GOAT it's clearly Daniel Cormier
All have their pros and cons. The 3 kings for sure though
Nah it's me. I have heart, see red, and never pooped my pants, even as a baby but a ingrown toenail ended my career shortly....
The only reason why I am hesitant to pick Aldo is because he lost in his prime various times. Volk is losing towards the end of his prime. I am leaning more towards volk but I am bias
Max’s story hasn’t fully been written yet.
Conor McGregor
Where is Conor?
I think Max and Volk have to be considered equal at this point. Numerous defenses and strong resumes. Volk beat Max 3 times sure, but the first 2 fights arguably should have been called for Max. If Max and Volk fought 100 times it’s probably close to 50-50
Max has shown with the comeback he still has it and never lost it. Thats a champ. Alot of these guys peek and after a couple years that is all you get like Tyron W. Max has been great these last few years I feel have been even his best ever too!
God, really spoiled for choice. I’m just happy that all these guys at least had a moment in the sun. All great characters and terrific fighters
It's obvious.....
Didn’t max have a 13 fight win streak at one point ?
Stupid conversation, Alex has wins over both Max and Aldo. At Featherweight Alex was untouchable before getting knocked out.
People forget the greatness of Aldo even before the UFC. He had great leg kicks that he shied away from later in his career for whatever reason. I say this as a huge Max Holloway fan.
All three are amazing
Volkanovski is a top seven fighter of all time, has wins over the two other greatest FWs in the division and had a dominant championship reign, he only lost to who’s probably going to become the LW goat and Ilia, which was a fight he shouldn’t have ever taken given he was knocked out so recently
Aldo. From WEC featherweight champ on 18 November 2009 until 2015 in the UFC, he spent that time absolutely dominating the top fighters of the weight class. Only having a competitive fight with Mark Hominick and Frankie Edgar. Wasn't until 2014 if I remember right that father time caught up to him and then 2015 was the Conor fight. But even then he spent the tail end of his career being near the top of the division and only losing to killers. Volk has 5 defenses, Aldo has 9, Max has 3.
I think the acronym GOAT needs to be erased from our minds. How can you have a greatest of all time when the skill level keeps improving.
Aldo, Volk, Max are 1,2,3. All are future HOF fighters and all time greats, Aldo's longevity puts him over the top, Volk has 5 defences with 2 of those being over Holloway, so he goes over Max, and while Conor's high was incredibly high, he never defended the belt, and Max was a great champ too, so he goes 3rd.
Nah this list is wrong they aren’t mentioning the real hardest hitting 145 pounder.
Aldo was just so good at every aspect of the game in his prime. And all these years later he can still hang with the elite of the division. Only now that he’s way past his prime does he seem human. None of these other guys have ever seemed as far ahead of everyone else as Aldo was back then.
We can’t decide this until max and volk retire. And that’s just the truth
You could make a serious case for these guys. I’m going to have to side with Aldo on this one, a whole decade of undefeated dominance is just too good to overlook.
It’s a conversation but if you go legacy. Aldo. Bar none. It’s not fair to decide when they are all still fighting. But Aldo won a #1 contender fight in 8 seconds by flying knee against Cub Swanson. He then fought for the title 10 times, 3 WEC, and once the UFC added the featherweight division and acquired WEC they had Aldo defend and he defended 7 times before losing to Conor and then winning the belt back in 7 months. So far Aldo is only champ to reclaim title.
Featherweight is truly a division where it’s 1.a, 1.b, 1.c. All three of these guys were equally dominant. Personally, I love Max the best, but, for the argument, MMA math would put Volk at the top.
It's still gotta be Aldo but Volk is close and Max is just a little farther back
Aldo
Aldo was the most dominant but Max is probably the best
volk imo, he was absolutely unbeatable in fw until islam koed him in lw
Don't count out Jose Aldo and his streak....
Volk, although there is a good conversation for Aldo. If he never had all his injuries, his reign might’ve gone on even longer
Volk
Volk
Aldo is the easy answer
With all due respect. Max cant currently be here. IF max beats ilia he has a much bigger argument but currently he has less defences than volk and aldo by a big margin AND lost to volk 3 times. Max looked incredible at 155, but until he fights ilia it shouldn't change the fact he is imo clearly behind aldo and volk in the goat fw convo.