At 21 years old, Waianae’s Max Holloway is the youngest on the UFC’s 400-plus fight roster.

Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Holloway will step inside the Octagon for the fifth time.

The UFC flyweight will fight Dennis Bermudez in one of four bouts scheduled for broadcast on the FX Channel (Oceanic Dig. 554) as part of the preliminary fight card leading up to UFC 160 on pay-per-view.

Holloway (7-1, 3-1 UFC) made his UFC debut 15 months ago and suffered his only professional loss.

Since then, he’s reeled off three straight victories and is beginning to feel comfortable fighting at the highest level of mixed martial arts.

"That first fight, I had a game plan and once I got in there, everything was happening at like 200 mph and I totally went away from the game plan," Holloway said. "That was the most nervous I’ve ever been and now I’m calm, I’m comfortable and it’s definitely much easier to fight now."

Holloway’s fight is the second-to-last preliminary bout and a fourth victory could put him in line to star on the UFC’s main card later this year.

At the same time, all it takes is one bad loss for his UFC dream to come to a sudden end.

"It’s always in the back of my mind that if you lose, you can get cut," Holloway said. "But it definitely helps me. I like to go out there and fight my heart out and the UFC loves fighters like that.

"I fight to keep people in their seats and not go to the bathroom, instead."

Holloway, who graduated from Waianae High School, started kickboxing at age 16.

During his senior season, he began to train in MMA and started telling his friends he would fight in the UFC one day.

"People didn’t take me seriously," Holloway said. "But I was out there making things happen and making sacrifices that other people don’t want to make."

After high school, he spent four months in Iowa, where he had his first MMA fight. He developed a bond with UFC fighter Jeremy Stephens, who brought him in to help train with him for his fight against Anthony Pettis in October of 2011. He was impressive enough during his time in California training with Stephens that people began to take notice.

Holloway signed a manager and a few months later, got the phone call that changed his life.

"I was working my regular day job at this handyman business in Kailua when I got a call and my manager said he had big news for me," Holloway said. "Now I get to train full-time and teach classes at my gym, Gracie Technics, and do what I love to do."

Holloway is fighting Bermudez (11-3, 3-1 UFC), who is also on a three-fight win streak.

Bermudez was an All-American in freestyle wrestling in college at Bloomsburg University.

"He’s a great wrestler and he’s a little more scrappy on his feet, so it should be a good fight," Holloway said. "I just want to test my skills and keep getting better."