Max Holloway

Max Holloway married Kaimana Paʻaluhi in 2012, and they have a son named Rush. Holloway and Paʻaluhi separated in 2014 and divorced in 2017.

Holloway began dating Hawaiian professional surfer Alessa Quizon in early 2020. He and Quizon married on April 16, 2022.

Holloway was raised in Waiʻanae, Hawaii, and is of Native Hawaiian and Samoan ancestry. He graduated from Waiʻanae High School in 2010. He began training in kickboxing at the end of his sophomore year in 2007 after his friend Josh Keanu encouraged him to train.

Holloway won his first amateur bout after three days of training and later won three amateur 145-pound belts within three months. He made his professional debut at 18, won the X-1 Lightweight Championship by defeating Harris Sarmiento in 2011, and entered the UFC at 19 as an injury replacement against Dustin Poirier at UFC 143.

After establishing a long winning streak at featherweight, Holloway defeated Anthony Pettis by third-round TKO at UFC 206 in December 2016 to win the interim UFC Featherweight Championship. He unified the title by stopping José Aldo in the third round at UFC 212 in June 2017, becoming the first American to win the UFC Featherweight Championship.

Holloway defended the belt against Aldo in a rematch at UFC 218, stopped Brian Ortega at UFC 231, and defeated Frankie Edgar by unanimous decision at UFC 240. His featherweight reign ended when Alexander Volkanovski defeated him at UFC 245 in December 2019. Holloway then lost two further title bouts against Volkanovski, including a split decision at UFC 251 and a unanimous decision at UFC 276.

Holloway moved between featherweight and lightweight for major bouts, including an interim lightweight title fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 236 in 2019. He lost that fight by unanimous decision, but later returned to lightweight for a BMF title bout against Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April 2024.

Holloway knocked out Gaethje with one second remaining in the fifth round to win the BMF title. He became the first fighter to defend the belt when he defeated Poirier by unanimous decision at UFC 318 in July 2025. Charles Oliveira later defeated Holloway by unanimous decision at UFC 326 in March 2026 to take the title. Holloway's professional record is 28 wins and 9 losses.

Holloway trains at Gracie Technics and fights from an orthodox stance, with Muay Thai as his principal fighting style. His UFC statistics include 13 wins by knockout and two by submission, including two guillotine choke victories.

He holds UFC records for significant strikes landed and total strikes landed. In his 2021 victory over Calvin Kattar, Holloway set single-fight records for significant strikes landed, significant strikes attempted, total strikes landed, total strikes attempted, and striking differential. He also set a UFC record for significant strikes landed in a fight when he connected 445 times against Kattar.

Holloway has also worked as an actor. His listed credits include the film Den of Thieves and the television series Hawaii Five-0.

He is also associated with the Untitled Max Holloway Documentary Project, which focuses on his life and fighting career.