A wan grin creases Max Holloway's face as he listens to the litany of names read off. It's not only a list of many of the greatest featherweights and lightweights in MMA history, it's also a list of some of the men that he has fought to this point in his career:

Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor.

UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo, twice.

UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar.

Former UFC featherweight champion and pound-for-pound great Alex Volkanovski, three times.

Dustin Poirier, twice.

Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.

Brian Ortega.

Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.

Former interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez.

Phew.

And, oh yeah, add to that list of one-time Holloway opponents Chan Sung Jung, aka "The Korean Zombie"; Calvin Kattar; Ricardo Lamas; Arnold Allen; Cub Swanson; Andre Fili and so many more.

There has never been anyone in the UFC who has faced better competition on a regular basis than Max Holloway. And Holloway will continue that run on April 13 when he meets Justin Gaethje for the BMF title on the main card of UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

He's gotten annoyed a bit recently at some fans who have expressed concern for his safety in fighting Gaethje, with those fans noting either that Gaethje is too big, too strong and/or hits too hard, or some combination thereof. Given the legends he's already faced, no one should have expected he'd do anything less than to call out a fighter the caliber of Gaethje for UFC 300.

B.J. Penn, his fellow Hawaiian who is now in the UFC Hall of Fame, used to drive UFC CEO Dana White crazy in the early years of White's ownership of the UFC by looking to jump divisions and fight bigger opposition. And Penn held both the UFC's lightweight and welterweight belts.

'Because I said that Gladiator quote, people said, 'Watch what happens if Francis Ngannou calls him out. Let's see what he says [then].' I'll fight him. Why should I care? It's a fight, brother. It is what it is. And if you're on the pound-for-pound list, then you should be able to fight everybody.' -- UFC fighter Max Holloway

Holloway is not only doing that, but he's also taken it to another level considering the growth in the sport. 

"I was fortunate enough to, my whole career, I always wanted to have a who's who's name on my list and not only have their names on the list, but [have] wins over them," Holloway said. "So at the end of the day, I just thought if you want to be great, this is the way. You must face greatness."

Holloway was even down to fight the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov on six days' notice at UFC 223, though he was pulled from the fight by the New York State Athletic Commission because of concerns over how much weight he'd have to cut to safely make the limit.

Big or small, Holloway wants them all. And he's annoyed at those who have criticized him for calling Gaethje out and accepting the fight when it was offered. 

"I just like to tell a lot of people, people who try to like shit on other people or try to put other people down or try to stop other people's dreams is because they told someone else their dream and they got shot down," Holloway said. "So they just feel like they have to get stuck in the cycle where, 'OK, since I got told this, I believe that I feel like I need to pass this on. That is craziness to me. At the end of the day, that's not it. That's not it. You know, if it was easy, everybody would be doing it. So I tell everybody, 'Don't let somebody tell you because they failed that you can't do something.'

"And that was the main thing. You know, a lot of people watch the YouTube. I saw somebody say like, 'Oh, yeah, [Max] is actually stuck like this. But because I said that Gladiator quote, [people said] 'Watch what happens if Francis Ngannou calls him out. Let's see what he says [then].' I'll fight him. Why should I care? It's a fight, brother. It is what it is. And if you're on the pound-for-pound list, then you should be able to fight everybody. What is the meaning of being No. 1 or No. 2 or whatever on the pound-for-pound list if you're not even thinking of fighting a guy outside of your weight class. That's crazy!"

HIs willingness to take on those challenges and win them is why he's become one of the UFC's most iconic fighters and why, not long after his career ends, he'll end up in the UFC Hall of Fame.

He's been blessed with great physical skills, but he's nurtured them and developed them and gotten the most out of them. And for all he's done, the run isn't over.

There's much more to come.

If you don't believe it, just ask him.

Or better yet for fight fans, just watch.