By T.P, Grant

Mixed Martial Arts can be a difficult sport to follow at times, to all but the most hardcore of followers of the sport it can seem a confusing mess of weight classes and champions. The UFC roster currently sits at over 500 fighters, not to mention the thousands of fighters outside of the promotion, so it’s understandable to have a hard time keeping so many names straight.

So to help with that, FloCombat is going to run down each UFC weight class and highlighting fighters that the new or casual MMA fan should be watching.
The Featherweight division used to be one of the hidden gems of the MMA world, largely ignored by causal fans but full of exciting talent. The recent rise of Conor McGregor has brought the division into the spotlight, and has brought the 145-lb fighters some well-deserved recognition. Featherweight was the first weight class below Lightweight to gain recognition in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, and since its introduction to the UFC the overall quality of the division has steadily increased. Featherweight seems to be creeping ever closer to joining Lightweight and Welterweight as a member of the ‘sweet spot’ where MMA is able to draw larger numbers of top flight athletes into the sport.

While there are developing fighters of note in the division, the action right now is all about the elite of the division.

Conor McGregor

The reigning UFC Featherweight champion, Conor McGregor is one of the biggest stars in the sport and is a no-brainer for this list. His recent, high profile loss to Nate Diaz was a serious blow to McGregor’s plans of moving up a weight class to challenge for the Lightweight belt. But history has shown that losses tend not to impact the interest in stars like McGregor, the comeback story often is as compelling as the rise and fall.

McGregor’s greatest asset is still his left hand, and while it failed to crack the iron chin of Nate Diaz, it is still a potent weapon. McGregor is a talent all-around striker with a vicious counter game, but a question has arisen if McGregor has fallen in love with his power to the degradation of the rest of his skills.
McGregor’s return to Featherweight to defend his championship is full of interesting match ups, and any fights he has this year will be major events.

Jose Aldo

For six years Jose Aldo held the WEC and then UFC Featherweight belts, making him the consensus best Featherweight on the planet, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA.  It all came crashing down in 13 seconds against Conor McGregor in December of last year as he was knocked out by the first punch landed in the fight. Aldo has been fighting almost 12 years now and is headed towards the twilight of his career, but even now Aldo is an extremely dangerous fighter. As skills go Aldo is the complete package, he is a crafty and venomous striker, an elite counter-wrestler, and a dangerous mat grappler as well.

Aldo already has wins over nearly every notable Featherweight in MMA with the exception of McGregor, and as a result is very much still a major player in the title picture. He is campaigning for a rematch with McGregor for the Featherweight title, and while some would dismiss him due to the speed at which McGregor beat him, fast knockouts can be very deceptive. A famous MMA example is Junior dos Santos knocking out then UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez in just over a minute on the first UFC on Fox show. The two went on to have a trilogy of fights, and in the rematch and following rubber match Velasquez put one-sided and career altering beatings on dos Santos.

While it is unlikely that a rematch between Aldo and McGregor will be quite as one-sided as dos Santos vs Velasquez II, there are many who are still very interested to see what a real 5 round fight between Aldo and McGregor would look like.

Frankie Edgar

Conor McGregor isn’t the only fighter in the Featherweight division who has dreams of holding titles in two different weigth classes, Frankie “The Answer” Edgar is a former UFC Lightweight champion who now contends at his much more natural weight of 145-lbs. Edgar has been in the UFC nearly nine years and spent much of that time at Lightweight, where he defeated UFC legend B.J. Penn to claim the title in 2010. He defended his title for just under two years before being unseated by Benson Henderson. Edgar then opted to move down in weight to challenge then UFC Featherweight champion Jose Aldo. Since then Edgar has won 5 straight Featherweight fights, included a 2 minute knockout of Chad Mendes in December.

Edgar brings an ever evolving striking game that is largely boxing based, and even at this late stage in his career he is making clear strides in terms of technique and power. Edgar is a powerhouse wrestler with a very controlling mat game, and vicious ground striking. While Edgar lost a clear fight to Jose Aldo three years ago, he is a nightmare match up for Conor McGregor. Edgar has been waiting patiently for a title shot, and expect him to either face McGregor this summer or face the winner of Aldo/McGregor II at the end of this year.

Max Holloway

The only fighter on this list who isn’t a former champion, Holloway very well could have championship fights in his future. The 24-year-old Hawaiian entered the UFC a teenager, a short notice replacement to face Dustin Poirier back in 2012. Holloway’s UFC career sits at 11-3 as he has had the rare opportunity in modern MMA to have nearly all his early professional fights take place in the UFC. As a result MMA fans have had a chance to watch Holloway developed from a raw and talented brawler into a technique and nuanced striker.

Holloway is currently riding an 8 fight winning streak that started back in 2014 by beating other Featherweight prospects, but has recently featured wins over Top 10 Featherweight fights like Cub Swanson and Charles Oliveira. Holloway is building himself towards a title shot that could happen late this year or early next year depending on how the division shapes up.