ATLANTA – Max Holloway caught wind of Dustin Poirier’s comment that he was going to “knock this mother(expletive) out” in the UFC 236, and he has a bold response.

Holloway (20-3 MMA, 16-3 UFC), the UFC featherweight champion who is moving up to lightweight to rematch Poirier (24-5 MMA, 16-4 UFC) for the interim lightweight title, has no doubts about his ability to get the job done Saturday.

“He said that I’ve got to make one mistake and when I make that one mistake he’s going to take,” Holloway told MMA Junkie following UFC 236 ceremonial weigh-ins. “That’s funny because to me you’ve just got to make that walk and show up tomorrow. I’ll be there tomorrow. Just show up.”

UFC 236 takes place Saturday at State Farm Arena. Holloway vs. Poirier headlines the pay-per-view main card following prelims on ESPN and UFC Fight Pass.

Holloway, who lost his octagon debut to Poirier by first-round submission at UFC 143 in February 2012, is in the midst of one of the great winning streaks in UFC history. “Blessed” has won his past 13 fights, and now he gets a chance to become just the seventh fighter in company history to win titles in two weight classes.

The Hawaiian has made it clear ahead of UFC 236 that he’s pursuing the top pound-for-pound spot in the sport. Avenging his loss to Poirier would help strengthen his resume, and he said he feels great things are on the horizon.

“You can just feel it,” Holloway said. “We’re on the cusp of something right now. Something huge is going to happen and I live for these moments. Every single fight the fights get bigger and bigger and bigger and I show up in a different way. That’s what I live for. You’ve got to live for this moment, live for this opportunity.”

If Holloway pulls off the victory, he would likely set himself up for a title unification bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov (27-0 MMA, 11-0 UFC), possibly in September. Holloway said he’s not focusing on anything beyond UFC 236, but is ready to take on all potential challenges to solidify his spot.

“I’m No. 4-ranked pound-for-pound in the world according to the UFC and there’s three guys in front of me,” Holloway said. “One of them is a ’55-pounder (Nurmagomedov), one of them is a 205 (Jon Jones) and one of them is my good friend ‘DC’ (Daniel Cormier), and they all can get it. It is what it is.”

For more on UFC 236, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.