Max Holloway’s inspired post-McGregor UFC run might allow him to inherit throne

Max Holloway’s most recent UFC defeat was to Conor McGregor in 2013.

While McGregor poured on the charm since to complement his impressive skill in the octagon, Holloway has operated with far less fanfare, defining himself by grinding through an impressive run of nine consecutive victories.

And while McGregor has become the first UFC fighter in history to simultaneously wear two belts as featherweight and lightweight champion, Hawaii’s Holloway (16-3) is just now getting a semifinal chance to fight for the featherweight belt the UFC recently took from McGregor.

“Man, hard work and dedication … I believe in the old-school ways that if you want something, you go out and get it. You prove it. Nothing was handed to me,” Holloway recently told The Times at a luncheon in Los Angeles. “Tune in [Saturday]. You’ll see how hard work pays off.”

Holloway, the UFC’s No. 2-ranked featherweight, will meet Milwaukee’s former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis from Toronto in a pay-per-view UFC 206 main event that was elevated to a five-round fight following the UFC’s decision to strip McGregor.

The Holloway-Pettis winner will be only interim champion, however, with the winner advancing to an early 2017 date against former featherweight champion Jose Aldo, now considered the full champion even if he was knocked out by McGregor in 13 seconds one year ago this week.

Holloway’s record was stained by a unanimous-decision loss to McGregor in 2013, but he responded with victories over the likes of serious contenders Cub Swanson, Jeremy Stephens, Charles Oliviera and Ricardo Lamas to pursue “a shiny belt,” even if this one is of an interim variety.

The UFC record for most consecutive victories is 16 by former middleweight champion Anderson Silva, with former champions Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Royce Gracie and current flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson boasting 11 or more.

“My thought [while battling through the UFC grinder post-McGregor] was, ‘I’m just going to have to kill everyone in the division until I get to the top spot and make them ask, ‘What do we do now that he’s here?’” Holloway said. “UFC is going to do what UFC does … I was trying to take out every contender there is.”

Pettis said he expects a thrilling match considering Holloway’s willingness to engage in a stand-up bout.

“The matchup is great, a fan favorite, but every time I go out there, I’m out to finish or make people wonder, ‘Why is this guy in there with Max?’ I try to make it look easy,” Holloway said.

He’s interested in getting back to McGregor after the featherweight business is handled, cracking that he’s capable of meeting the Irishman at any weight, “I’ll go heavyweight if he wants to fight. I’m Polynesian, Hawaiian. Us boys can get big.”

Holloway said he has no regrets over seeing how McGregor built his brand as he constructed his own.

“It takes a special human to [sell yourself], and Conor’s a special guy. You can’t hate on him for that,” Holloway said. “If everybody could do it, they’d be doing it. It took him.

“So you have to find your niche and hit it. I’m finding mine. I can’t be fake. This is the real Max Holloway. If you like it, great.”