MAX HOLLOWAY VS. DUSTIN POIRIER OPENING BETTING ODDS FOR UFC 236

Even a bombshell dropped on the MMA world late Friday evening, when ESPN’s Brett Okamoto revealed that UFC president Dana White confirmed to him that there’ll be a interim lightweight title at stake in UFC 236. In 1 corner will be high lightweight contender Dustin Poirier, whilst at the other corner UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway will stand, looking to join the select few UFC fighters that have won straps in two weight classes. Below, I will give my first thoughts on the struggle, 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 name. The card takes place April 13 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The co-main occasion 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 involving Poirier and Holloway, I have to talk about what this means for the rest of the lightweight division. Obviously, the decision to create an interim title usually means that the promotion expects UFC lightweight winner Khabib Nurmagomedov to be out on the sidelines for some time. Really, he’s scheduled to return in the oldest in November due to his suspension coming out of the post-fight brawl in UFC 226. It is possible the UFC doesn’t even believe he will return before the close of the year is up, and the division obviously needs to keep going around.
The fighter who gets hurt the most with this news is clearly Tony Ferguson, who’s on an 11-fight win streak and who was the prior interim title holder this past year before he slipped to a TV cable and blew out his knee. Ferguson returned late last year in UFC 226 with a TKO win over Anthony Pettis and most figured he would be the next opponent for Nurmagomedov. However, according to White, Ferguson turned down an interim title struggle with Holloway, and Poirier jumped in and took his own spot instead. This implies for Ferguson going forward remains to be seen, but considering what happened to Colby Covington and the welterweight division, it seems the UFC has moved on.
So far as the Poirier vs. Holloway fight goes, it is an awesome matchup, and actually a rematch since both formerly fought UFC 143 back in 2012, 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 top of their various games and this rematch should be amazing. Poirier (24-5, 1 NC) is unbeaten over his last five fights and is coming from a TKO win over Eddie Alvarez. Holloway (20-3) is on a 13-fight win streak and hauled out Brian Ortega in his last struggle. Both men are really at the top of their game at this time and this ought to be an wonderful fight.
The offshore sportsbooks dropped the opening gambling odds for the struggle, with Holloway launching as a -230 betting favorite, with the comeback on Poirier at +170. The first betting action has come in on Holloway, however given Poirier’s past win over him I expect some actions to come from his way sooner or later or another. In any event, the sportsbooks can anticipate a large deal with this particular fight, which promises to be among the most-anticipated bouts of this year.
In addition to Poirier vs. Holloway, UFC 236 additionally features an interim middleweight title bout between Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum. You may have a look at my thoughts on the opening line 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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