Compare Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway — UFC matchup breakdown
Tale of the Tape
The biometric deltas where one side genuinely has an edge.
Activity & layoff
The recency dimension Tale of the Tape doesn't carry. How active each fighter has been, and how that compares to active peers in their division.
- Conor has 4y 7mo more layoff
Division percentiles below rank both fighters against the Welterweight roster (490 fighters). Conor McGregor fights at Welterweight; Max Holloway at Lightweight — Max Holloway’s percentiles are measured against a division they don’t compete in, so read them with that in mind.
Recent form
Last five pro bouts (non-UFC fights dashed + tagged), current trajectory, and the level of opposition going into this matchup.
Common opponents
Every UFC opponent both fighters have faced — a direct comparison controlling for matchmaking.
Schedule Score
Who they've faced × what they've done. Composite + components compared head-to-head, percentile-ranked against every UFC fighter w/ ≥3 resolved bouts.
Per-tier records + bout-by-bout
| Tier | Conor McGregor | Max Holloway |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | 3-1 | 3-6 |
| Top-5 | 4-2 | 11-2 |
| Top-15 | 2-1 | 2-1 |
| Established | — | 1-0 |
| Building | 1-0 | 1-0 |
| Unproven | — | 5-0 |
- L vs Dustin Poirier#193Jul 10, 2021 · Top-5
- L vs Dustin Poirier#292Jan 23, 2021 · Top-5
- W vs Donald Cerrone#1373Jan 18, 2020 · Top-5
- L vs Khabib NurmagomedovCHAMP100Oct 6, 2018 · Champion
- W vs Eddie AlvarezCHAMP100Nov 12, 2016 · Champion
- W vs Nate Diaz65Aug 20, 2016 · Top-15
- L vs Nate Diaz65Mar 5, 2016 · Top-15
- W vs Jose AldoCHAMP100Dec 12, 2015 · Champion
- W vs Chad Mendes#190Jul 11, 2015 · Top-5
- W vs Dennis Siver#1075Jan 18, 2015 · Top-5
- W vs Dustin Poirier#581Sep 27, 2014 · Top-5
- W vs Diego Brandao#1560Jul 19, 2014 · Top-15
- W vs Max Holloway71Aug 17, 2013 · Champion
- W vs Marcus Brimage18Apr 6, 2013 · Building
- L vs Charles Oliveira#394Mar 7, 2026 · Champion
- W vs Dustin Poirier#688Jul 19, 2025 · Top-5
- L vs Ilia TopuriaCHAMP100Oct 26, 2024 · Champion
- W vs Justin Gaethje#296Apr 13, 2024 · Champion
- W vs Chan Sung Jung#880Aug 26, 2023 · Top-5
- W vs Arnold Allen#481Apr 15, 2023 · Top-5
- L vs Alexander VolkanovskiCHAMP100Jul 2, 2022 · Champion
- W vs Yair Rodriguez#388Nov 13, 2021 · Top-5
- W vs Calvin Kattar#679Jan 16, 2021 · Top-5
- L vs Alexander VolkanovskiCHAMP100Jul 11, 2020 · Champion
- L vs Alexander Volkanovski#197Dec 14, 2019 · Champion
- W vs Frankie Edgar#490Jul 27, 2019 · Top-5
- L vs Dustin Poirier#391Apr 13, 2019 · Top-5
- W vs Brian Ortega#190Dec 8, 2018 · Top-5
- W vs Jose Aldo#197Dec 2, 2017 · Champion
- W vs Jose AldoCHAMP100Jun 3, 2017 · Champion
- W vs Anthony Pettis#581Dec 10, 2016 · Top-5
- W vs Ricardo Lamas#584Jun 4, 2016 · Top-5
- W vs Jeremy Stephens#878Dec 12, 2015 · Top-5
- W vs Charles Oliveira#778Aug 23, 2015 · Top-15
- W vs Cub Swanson#584Apr 18, 2015 · Top-5
- W vs Cole Miller35Feb 14, 2015 · Established
- W vs Akira Corassani18Oct 4, 2014 · Building
- W vs Clay Collard8Aug 23, 2014 · Unproven
- W vs Andre Fili42Apr 26, 2014 · Top-15
- W vs Will Chope8Jan 4, 2014 · Unproven
- L vs Conor McGregor68Aug 17, 2013 · Champion
- L vs Dennis Bermudez55May 25, 2013 · Top-15
- W vs Leonard Garcia8Dec 29, 2012 · Unproven
- W vs Justin Lawrence8Aug 11, 2012 · Unproven
- W vs Pat Schilling8Jun 1, 2012 · Unproven
- L vs Dustin Poirier60Feb 4, 2012 · Top-5
All figures are 0–100 ratings (shown as %), not percentages of anything literal. Schedule strength = the average quality of every UFC opponent faced (win or lose). Win quality = the average quality of the opponents actually beaten. The composite Schedule Score combines schedule strength (65%) with win quality (35%). Per-bout opponent quality is scored on rank-at-time-of-fight (champion 100, ranks 1–5 = 90→78, ranks 6–15 = 75→60), with cross-division and P4P signals layered on, falling back to opponent UFC record-at-time for unranked opponents. For fighters with limited UFC experience the headline is held toward a rookie baseline, so debut / low-sample fighters read lower than established names. UFC ranking data is sparse before December 2018, so legacy-era fighters score from record-at-time when ranks are missing.
Career splits
Striking matchup
Each fighter's offense mapped against the other's defense — where one attacks meets where the other gets hit, across head, body, and leg. Per 15 minutes of UFC fight time.
Evenly matched striking — no clear edge either way.
Where McGregor attacks (green = high volume) vs where Holloway gets hit (red = vulnerable) — McGregor’s green zones meeting Holloway’s red zones are the openings.
- Head70%90th419
- Body17%75th102
- Leg13%69th78
Color = division rank · green elite → red low · % = share of strikes
- Head63%22nd1,559
- Body14%48th346
- Leg22%9th552
Color = division rank · green elite → red low · % = share absorbed · partly opponent-dependent
- Standing77%461
- Clinch10%61
- Ground13%77
- Standing92%2,264
- Clinch5%126
- Ground3%67
Each lane: the attacker’s strike rate (offense) vs the other’s rate absorbed (defense), graded on the division. The bar leans toward whoever wins the exchange — longer + greener = a bigger, higher-quality edge.
Full breakdown — all zones, both views
| Zone | Fighter | Landed / 15 | Accuracy | Absorbed / 15 | Career landed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Conor McGregor | top 10% of division48.2 | 44% | well below average44.4 | 419 |
| Head | Max Holloway | elite — top of division64.1 | 40% | well below average43.1 | 2,381 |
| Body | Conor McGregor | top 25% of division12.4 | 65% | below division average11.4 | 102 |
| Body | Max Holloway | elite — top of division24.1 | 74% | around division average9.8 | 899 |
| Leg | Conor McGregor | above division average9.8 | 79% | below division average9.1 | 78 |
| Leg | Max Holloway | top 28% of division11.1 | 77% | bottom of the division15.0 | 401 |
Per-15-minute rates are sourced from UFCStats fight totals across each fighter’s UFC career. Division percentile is computed against every UFC fighter who has competed in this weight class with at least two recorded bouts. Lower “absorbed” values are better — the percentile is inverted so “top of division” always means better outcome.
Grappling matchup
Takedowns, submission threat, and control. Per 15 minutes of UFC fight time, with takedown defense as a percentage of opponent attempts stopped.
Each metric graded on the division — the bar leans toward whoever wins that part of the grappling exchange (longer + greener = a bigger edge).
Evenly matched grappling — no clear edge either way.
Full breakdown — career grappling totals
| Metric | Conor McGregor | Max Holloway |
|---|---|---|
| Takedowns landed / 15career takedowns | 0.75 | 0.28 |
| Takedown accuracycareer landed / attempted | 56%5 / 9 | 53%8 / 15 |
| Takedown defensecareer stopped / faced | 67%22 / 33 | 81%136 / 167 |
| Submission attempts / 15career attempts | 0.11 | 0.310 |
| Control time / 15 (min)career total | 1.8 min13:51 | 0.8 min29:08 |
| Time controlled by opponent / 15 (min)career total | 4.1 min30:57 | 1.7 min61:20 |
All rates computed from UFCStats fight totals across each fighter’s UFC career. Takedown defense = opponent attempts stopped ÷ opponent total attempts. Control time figures are minutes the fighter spent in a dominant position per 15 minutes of fight time. Accuracy under 8 career attempts is shown raw and ungraded — too small a sample to rate against the division.
Finishing & durability
How often each fighter ends fights early — and how often they get put away. Outcomes view, not per-minute output.
When their fights end
every pro finish on the fight clockFinish & durability rates
Full professional career
Full method breakdown
| Outcome | Conor McGregor | Max Holloway |
|---|---|---|
| Wins | ||
| by KO / TKO | 19(86%) | 12(44%) |
| by submission | 1(5%) | 2(7%) |
| by decision | 2(9%) | 13(48%) |
| Losses | ||
| by KO / TKO | 2(33%) | 1(11%) |
| by submission | 4(67%) | 1(11%) |
| by decision | 0(0%) | 7(78%) |
Full professional career method splits, graded against the full-pro division distribution. Career KO losses are the total — clean knockouts and cut/injury stoppages can’t be separated outside the UFC corpus. Finish-time pace is UFC-only.
KO history
UFC fights only — knockout power and chin durability, head-to-head, then when the last finish landed, and on whom.
- Last time KO'dvs Dustin Poirier4y 11mo agoUFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor 3 · Jul 10, 2021 · R1 · 5:00* between-rounds stoppage · not a clean KO
- Last time submittedvs Khabib Nurmagomedov7y 8mo agoUFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor · Oct 6, 2018 · R4 · 3:03
- Last time KO'dvs Ilia Topuria1y 7mo agoUFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway · Oct 26, 2024 · R3 · 1:34
- Last time submittedvs Dustin Poirier14y 4mo agoUFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit · Feb 4, 2012 · R1 · 3:23
Pace & fade
How each fighter's work rate holds up as a fight wears on — round-by-round output (striking, takedown attempts, and control time combined), and whether they fade. The fade % compares round-3 output to round 1 over bouts that reached the third round.
Both lean the same way, but Holloway leans harder: Holloway builds (+11% per round through round 5), McGregor builds (+4% per round through round 4). Within fights that reached round 3, McGregor lifts to 141% of round-1 output by round 3, Holloway 158%.
Faded points are drawn from a single bout that reached that round, so they’re less reliable than the solid points averaged over many fights.
Rounds backed by fewer than 2 bouts are drawn smaller and dimmed with an n= count — a deep round seen in one or two fights is a thin sample, not a settled rate. Per-round bout counts are in the breakdown below.
Full per-round breakdown — both fighters
What drives the pace · per round
The composite output line above blends these three inputs. Splitting them out shows whether a fighter’s work rate is built on striking volume, takedown pressure, or top control — and which input fades.
| Round | Fighter | Output / min | Sig landed / min | Sig absorbed / min | TD att / min | Control | Bouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Conor McGregor | 6.0 | 5.5 | 3.8 | 0.04 | 10% | 14 |
| R1 | Max Holloway | 5.3 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 0.01 | 3% | 32 |
| R2 | Conor McGregor | 5.8 | 5.2 | 6.1 | 0.09 | 9% | 8 |
| R2 | Max Holloway | 6.8 | 6.6 | 4.3 | 0.01 | 5% | 29 |
| R3 | Conor McGregor | 6.6 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 0.20 | 32% | 3 |
| R3 | Max Holloway | 8.3 | 7.7 | 4.5 | 0.05 | 10% | 27 |
| R4 | Conor McGregor | 6.6 | 6.5 | 5.3 | 0.00 | 2% | 2 |
| R4 | Max Holloway | 10.3 | 9.9 | 5.6 | 0.07 | 5% | 12 |
| R5 | Conor McGregor | 5.7 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 0.20 | 9% | 1 |
| R5 | Max Holloway | 7.8 | 7.5 | 5.5 | 0.04 | 5% | 11 |
Output / minis the headline work rate — significant strikes landed, plus 3 per takedown attempt, plus one per 15 seconds of control — so a takedown-and-grind round isn’t scored as idle the way bare striking volume would. The remaining columns are its components. Per-round rates use UFCStats per-round data (available for ~95% of bouts since 2008). Each round’s rates are averaged only over bouts that reached that round, so the bout count shrinks as rounds deepen. The final round of a finished fight is pro-rated by its actual length — a 2:30 stoppage counts as 2.5 minutes, not five — so an early finish doesn’t distort the per-minute pace.