A bombshell dropped on the MMA world late Friday evening, when ESPN’s Brett Okamoto disclosed that UFC president Dana White confirmed to him that there will be a interim lightweight title at stake at UFC 236. In one corner will probably be top lightweight competitor Dustin Poirier, whilst at the other corner UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway will endure, trying to join the select few UFC fighters that have won straps in two weight classes. Below, I will give my initial thoughts on the fight, and what it means for the lightweight division.
Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway, UFC 236
Poirier and Holloway will fulfill in the primary event of UFC 236 for the interim lightweight title. The card takes place April 13 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The co-main event of this card is an interim middleweight title bout between Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum, meaning two fresh UFC champions will be crowned that night.
Before I enter the actual matchup between Poirier and Holloway, I must speak about what this means for the rest of the lightweight division. Evidently, the choice to make an interim title usually means the advertising expects UFC lightweight winner Khabib Nurmagomedov to be out in the sidelines for a while. Indeed, he is scheduled to return at the oldest in November because of his suspension stemming from the post-fight brawl in UFC 226. It’s possible the UFC does not even think he will return before the end of the season is up, and the division obviously needs to keep moving around.
The fighter who gets hurt the most by this information is clearly Tony Ferguson, who’s on an 11-fight win streak and who had been the former interim name holder this past year before he slipped on a TV cable and blew his knee out. Ferguson returned late last year in UFC 226 having a TKO win over Anthony Pettis and most figured he would be the next competitor for Nurmagomedov. But according to White, Ferguson turned into a interim name fight with Holloway, and Poirier jumped in and took his own place instead. What this means for Ferguson moving forward remains to be seen, but considering what happened to Colby Covington along with the welterweight division, it appears the UFC has already moved on.
As far as the Poirier vs. Holloway fight goes, it is an awesome matchup, and really a rematch as both formerly fought UFC 143 back in 2012, together with Poirier beating Holloway by submission. Obviously, that has been Holloway’s UFC debut and he’s a very different fighter today. So is Poirier. They are both would be the very best of their respective games and this rematch ought to be amazing. Poirier (24-5, 1 NC) is unbeaten over his last five fights and will be coming from a TKO win over Eddie Alvarez. Holloway (20-3) is on a 13-fight win streak and knocked out Brian Ortega in his final struggle. Both men are really at the top of their game right now and this ought to be an wonderful fight.
The offshore sportsbooks dropped the launching betting odds for the struggle, with Holloway opening as a -230 betting favorite, with all the comeback on Poirier in +170. The first betting action has come in on Holloway, though given Poirier’s previous win over him I anticipate some action to come in his way at some point or another. Either way, the sportsbooks can anticipate a large deal with this battle, which promises to be one of the most-anticipated bouts of the year.
Along with Poirier vs. Holloway, UFC 236 additionally offers an interim middleweight title bout between Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum. You may have a look at my thoughts about the opening lineup for that bout here.
Launching Betting Odds
UFC 236:
April 13, 2019
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Main Event — Interim Lightweight Title
Max Holloway -230
Dustin Poirier +170
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