Where We Stand: Featherweight Division | July 2023

Outlook: Volkanovski did what he does best, which is: being the best. The Aussie champ leaned on his wrestling to suffocate Rodriguez before landing a picture-perfect counter punch to stagger and eventually fell the Mexican. Upon exiting the Octagon, Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria had an exchange, and it seems like that is the next man up for the featherweight crown. At 145 pounds, nobody has had a real answer for Volkanovski, but he has remained consistent in his desire to challenge for the lightweight title once again after his razor close loss to Islam Makhachev.

Outlook: Holloway remains in his limbo of being better than every featherweight other than Volkanovski. It’s unlikely that Holloway will earn a fourth crack at the Aussie anytime soon, so until someone dethrones him, Holloway is left to his own devices. Holloway has taken to bottlenecking the contender pipeline, taking out hopeful title challengers like Calvin Kattar and, most recently, Arnold Allen. Holloway continues to improve and is still, somehow, just 31 years old. Should he get past The Korean Zombie in Singapore, there is surely another featherweight riser looking to halt the “Blessed” Express.

Outlook: “El Pantera” fell short against Volkanovski, but he got his shots in against the champion. As he looks to rebuild his resume, his options are vast. He gave Holloway a tough fight in their main event circa 2021, so perhaps that’s a fight that could come down the pipe in the near future. He and Ortega also have some slightly unfinished business after their fight reached an anticlimactic ending due to Ortega suffering an injury. Rodriguez has only improved each time he has made the walk, so he is far from done making noise in the title picture.

Outlook: Ortega’s body has betrayed him of late and kept him out of action more than the 32-year-old would likely prefer in the last half-decade. That said, he remains an exciting and excellent mixed martial artist who is more than capable of finishing anyone in the Top 10. His next move is a bit blurry for the time being. Fights against Rodriguez, Allen, Kattar and Josh Emmett all make sense, but it seems like it’s up to Ortega and what he wants to do.

Outlook: Long considered the division’s dark horse, Allen suffered some sour luck when his main event against Calvin Kattar came to a premature end due to Kattar blowing out his knee. That said, he acquitted himself well against the longtime featherweight champ in Kansas City. Although Holloway comfortably fought his way to a decision win, Allen never looked out of place, so one can assume he’ll only come back sharper his next time out. Fights against Rodriguez and Ortega make sense, but he also might find himself having to fight down in order to solidify his spot in the Top 5.

Outlook: Topuria announced himself as an absolute problem with his five-round demolition job against Emmett in their Jacksonville main event. Each time out, Topuria has aced the test in front of him in a variety of ways that have all been incredibly entertaining. Not short on confidence, Topuria might be a little untested in the featherweight gauntlet, but he has taken care of his business and is a worthy challenger to Volkanovski’s title whenever the champ is ready to defend the throne once again.

Outlook: The bottom-half of the featherweight rankings is an interesting mix of veterans who likely won’t reach a title shot soon and those who need to generate some elusive momentum in order to get into the title picture. Movsar Evloev is probably the most threatening presence outside of the Top 5 at the moment, but injuries and a lack of activity have prevented him from creating a solidified resume despite his great ability. Kattar and Emmett are both coming off a couple losses in a row, so they might need to fight someone outside of the Top 10 before getting back into the scuffle. Kattar, who was a company workhorse for the last three years, is yet to come back from the knee injury he suffered toward the tail end of 2022, but a big win in his comeback could put him back into the mix. Emmett, however, is more in the same spot as Jung — veterans who have had their title shot and, given their age, might not have many fights left in them. That said, they are both knockout artists, and power famously stays with a fighter the longest, so they might have some noise to make yet.