5 greatest UFC champions under the age of 30
Max Holloway's unanimous decision win over Yair Rodríguez is all the more impressive when you consider the UFC veteran is still just 29 years of age. Holloway has already racked up a staggering 25 fights with the organization.
Holloway has been able to achieve this due to just how early he began fighting for the UFC and also how quickly he found success. 'Blessed' had his first UFC fight when he was 20 and first won gold when he was 25.
At #UFCVegas42 Max Holloway attempts to become the 12th fighter to have 19 or more wins in the UFC.
If he wins, he will be the first fighter under 30 to achieve that goal.
To put this in perspective, there are currently only two UFC champions under the age of 30. They are the flyweight champion Brandon Moreno, who is 27 and women's flyweight champion Rose Namajunas who is 29.
This shows that for the most part, fighters tend not to reach their peak until they are in their 30s. There are, however, a number of notable exceptions where fighters have reached the top of their division whilst still in their 20s.
Here are five who have stood out above the rest as the greatest UFC champions under the age of 30:
#5. Ronda Rousey
It might be surprising to some that the entirety of Ronda Rousey's illustrious MMA career came before she turned 30. This includes Rousey's six successful defenses of her bantamweight championship, which she later lost to Holly Holm.
Rousey was a true phenom in her prime and her popularity is a significant reason you see women's MMA in the UFC today. She would regularly overwhelm opponents, with 11 of her 12 wins coming in the first round of the fight.
Ronda Rousey: shortest average fight time (3:29) of any UFC fighter w/ 5+ fights
Her last 2 lasted 30 seconds total http://t.co/dol9t8i73O
While Rousey's resume is hugely impressive, she would likely rank higher if not for her championship losses in her final two appearances. The consecutive defeats to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes destroyed any belief that there was a talent gap between Rousey and the rest of the division.
All in all, one can only admire Rousey's dominance during this spell. Rousey was one of the sport's biggest stars and given she is still only 34 today, perhaps we might see her return to the octagon one day.