The UFC will step into Atlanta, Georgia this Saturday – April 13 as UFC236 is scheduled to take place at the State Farm Arena.
The UFC brass have put together a pretty strong fight card which will be co-headlined by an interim Middleweight title fight and headlined by an interim Lightweight title fight.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is the current lightweight champion in the UFC but the Dagestani fighter hasn’t fought for 6 months and will most likely be out till September.
The UFC decided to put an interim title on the line and allow Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway who is the current Featherweight champion to step up a weight class and challenge Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier for an interim belt.
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Holloway and Poirier have fought before which resulted in Poirier quickly submitting Holloway. That was when Holloway first entered the UFC and was 20 years old. Since then, the Blessed Express has grown in leaps and bounds and is now one of the best fighters in the world.
The bookies have Holloway as the favourite at -200 with Poirier at +170.
Robert Whittaker is the current UFC Middleweight champion who had to pull out of his fight with Gastelum at UFC234 due to an injury. He is out till August and hence the UFC decided to do an interim fight between Gastelum and Adesanya.
There are many UFC Middleweight fighters who believe Adesanya shouldn’t be fighting for the belt as he skipped the line and jumped over the likes of Jacare, Chris Weidman and Yoel Romero. However, there is no denying the fact that Adesanya – The Last Stylebender is one of the hottest stars in the UFC right now and the promotion is giving him a push.
Adesanya is undefeated in the UFC and is the favorite to win with the bookies having odds of -180 with Gastelum at +150.
In a statement, Adesanya said
Kelvin’s not scared; he’s dangerous. That’s what excites me about him. Mexicans are known for their warrior spirit. He’s going Mexican style of MMA. I’m looking to put him on the stake, as well.
Some of the other fights on the UFC236 card include Eryk Anders vs. Khalil Rountree Jr and Ovince Saint Preux vs. Nikita Krylov who will fight at light heavyweight; Curtis Millender vs. Belal Muhammad and Alan Jouban vs. Dwight Grant who will fight at welterweight.
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