Max Holloway aiming to derail Conor McGregor's hype train at UFC Fight Night 26

UFC featherweight Max Holloway is well aware of the attention his UFC Fight Night 26 opponent Conor McGregor is receiving going into their showdown Saturday night, but he has absolutely no problem with it.

Currently the youngest active fighter on the UFC roster, the 21-year-old Holloway (7-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) is soft-spoken and humble with a personality and lifestyle that is a far cry from his next opponent.

Unlike McGregor (13-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), you won’t read Holloway’s name in headlines for making outlandish remarks, and you certainly won’t see him riding shotgun in Dana White’s Ferrari during one of the UFC president’s upcoming video blogs.

Where you will find him, though, is spending time with his family and training hard is his Hawaii gym.

While preparing for the highest-profile fight of his life against McGregor, a man who many consider to be the next big thing in the 145-pound weight class, Holloway is not concerning himself with the attention his opponent is receiving. Instead, he’s focused on getting in and out of Boston and back to his family, ideally with win and performance bonus checks in hand.

“If Dana White wants to (hang out with McGregor) it’s cool,” Holloway told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.coom). “I got a family, and I’d rather be chilling with my family then being on a superstar tour with Dana White. After this fight all I want is to get on a plane, come back home, and hopefully have $50,000 more in my bank account.”

Holloway isn’t blind to the promotional push McGregor is getting ahead of his second UFC fight, which takes place Saturday at Boston’s TD Garden. Their bout is one of many airing on FOX Sports 1 as part of the new channel’s debut day of programming.

From his appearance in White’s popular video blogs to getting a personal media day ahead of the event, most fighters would be envious of the position “The Notorious” currently finds himself in.

Not Holloway, though. He understands McGregor is the UFC’s key when it comes to international expansion in Ireland, and they must market him as such. However, once the cage door closes, where McGregor is from is irrelevant, and it’ll all come down to who is the better man with the superior skill set, Holloway said.

Holloway believes he is that man, and while McGregor is doing the right things outside the octagon to become a big name in the sport, the Hawaiian knows he will do the right things inside of it in order to take some of the spotlight for himself.

“He’s like the first guy from Ireland and UFC – he’s the first big name, big star, and UFC needs an Ireland guy,” Holloway said. “If they didn’t have B.J. Penn, I think they’d be putting more hype into Hawaii fighters, but they already had a Hawaiian star, and he’s the first Ireland star so, it is what it is.

“Not that I hate on his shine, you know? I just like to fight. I love to fight, and we’re going to see what this hype is about on Aug. 17 when those doors close on the cage. I’m going to earn my respect. I’d rather earn my stripes. I’d rather put my time in, earn my stripes rather than have someone say, ‘Here, here’s your stripes going in.’”

McGregor not only has high expectations from fans, but it appears he also has big plans for his own career as he has discussed future matchups with the likes of 145-pound contender Cub Swanson and divisional kingpin Jose Aldo.

Those are some grand aspirations, and while Holloway knows his opponent is focused on the upcoming fight, he feels slightly disrespected and plans on making the Irishman take an unwelcomed detour on his road to the top.

“[He's underestimating me] for sure,” Holloway said. “He might just be playing it cool. I think he gets ready for all his fights, and he’s ready for all his fights. I don’t think he takes anyone lightly. But, I don’t know what’s going through his mind; he’s calling out Cub Swanson and a bunch of top 5 fighters. He wants to fight Aldo for the belt real fast.

“My job is to go in there and stop that from happening. If I get a victory in there and I finish him, it’s going to be that much sweeter.”

So how exactly does he envision the fight playing out? On the feet, of course.

Despite his youth, Holloway is one of the best strikers in the featherweight division, a statement proven true by his stat sheet. Through five career UFC fights, Holloway is tops in 145-pound history (and second overall in UFC history) when it comes to strikes landed on his opponent per minute. He is tied for the most knockdowns in featherweight history, has the third best striking defense in the weight class, and has connected with the second most significant strikes in the division’s existence.

“Blessed” loves to keep his fights standing, and in his opinion, this one will be no different, especially considering McGregor has earned 12 of his 13 professional wins by way of knockout.

“Whenever someone hears that Max Holloway is fighting, they can get ready to watch a stand up fight,” he said. “I love to keep it on the feet, and as long as you want to stand up, I’d love to stand up with him. I just don’t know he might go in there and shoot on me or whatever, but I love to keep it on my feet. My game plan ain’t no secret.”

After falling just short of victory against Dennis Bermudez at May’s UFC 160 event in a fight many believed he won, Holloway is highly motivated to take the crown of most hyped featherweight prospect from McGregor’s head and put it on his own.

And not only does Holloway plan on doing that Saturday night, but he intends on doing it in a fashion worthy of one of the UFC’s lucrative fight-night bonuses.

“True champions, they come back (from losses) stronger than ever, and I can’t wait to fight this fight,” Holloway said. “One of us is walking out with a bonus added to our list, and I just can’t wait to get in the cage and fight this guy.”

For the latest on UFC Fight Night 26, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.