Max Holloway will walk right into middle of the fire and test ‘dangerous’ Brian Ortega

No, this isn’t an infomercial for the US Marine Corps, but Max Holloway isn’t afraid to run right into the mouth of danger. And that’s just what he intends to do when he comes face-to-face with Brian Ortega when they meet for “Blessed’s” Featherweight title later this year.

It’s a fight Holloway looks forward to, as it’s a fresh matchup that further puts the spotlight on the new faces of the 145-pound division.

“I’m excited about this fight. More people are talking about this fight than when I was matched up with Frankie. Finally I’m fighting a guy that they’ve watched grow up. This is a new era, new faces and a fresh matchup,” said Holloway on a recent interview on “Below the Belt” with Brendan Schaub.

At 14-0-1, Ortega has risen the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ranks by finishing every single one of his opponents inside the Octagon, thanks to a fine-tuned submission game and ever-improving standup.

Something that isn’t lost on Holloway.

“I’m so excited for the challenge, I am looking forward to this one. I can’t wait to do the damn thing. He is dangerous, he is dangerous everywhere. He has always proven to be dangerous as a grappler, but his striking has been coming along that last couple of fights. Like I say, when I see danger, I want to walk right into the middle of the fire and I want to test it. Whenever that date is, we are going to find out.”

“I am the danger!”

Ortega earned his shot at the featherweight title by knocking out Frankie Edgar in the very first round at UFC 222, becoming the first man to ever finish the longtime veteran (see it again here).

A date and place has not been confirmed for the 145-pound title fight, though early talks have it landing at the upcoming UFC 226 pay-per-view (PPV) event on July 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Before that, “Blessed” still has to get cleared to return to training — which he hopes to do next week — after suffering a leg injury that forced him out of his scheduled title defense against the aforementioned Edgar.