UFC 236: HOLLOWAY vs. POIRIER 13 April 2019 | State Farm Arena | Atlanta, GA MAIN CARD Pay-Per-View, 10 p.m. ET Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier Kelvin Gastelum vs. Israel Adesanya Eryk Anders vs. Khalil Rountree, Jr. Alan Jouban vs. Dwight Grant Ovince Saint Preux vs. Nikita Krylov PRELIMINARY CARD ESPN, 8 p.m. ET Jalin Turner vs. Matt Frevola Wilson Reis vs. Alexandre Pantoja Max Griffin vs. Zelim Imadaev Boston Salmon vs. Khalid Taha PRELIMINARY CARD UFC Fight Pass, 6 p.m. ET Curtis Millender vs. Belal Muhammad Montel Jackson vs. Andre Soukhamthath Lauren Mueller vs. Poliana Botelho
There's a rumor going around that Nate is getting Khabib in September because Khabib wants to shut him up ala Conor. Does Nate deserve it? No. Will Nate get his ass kicked? Yes. Will it sell? Yes. This is the type of fight WME makes.
It is early in the year, but no other fight this year will be as much fun to watch as Holloway/Pettis. Might be the best fight since Lawler and MacDonald threw down at UFC 189.
Results Dustin Poirier def. Max Holloway via unanimous decision (49-46, 49–46, 49-46) – to win interim lightweight title Israel Adesanya def. Kelvin Gastelum via unanimous decision (48-46, 48-46, 48-46) – to win interim middleweight title Khalil Rountree def. Eryk Anders via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26) Dwight Grant def. Alan Jouban via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28) Nikita Krylov def. Ovince Saint Preux via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:30 Matt Frevola def. Jalin Turner via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Alexandre Pantoja def. Wilson Reis via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:58 Max Griffin def. Zelim Imadaev via majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28) Khalid Taha def. Boston Salmon via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:25 Belal Muhammad def. Curtis Millender via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 30-26) Montel Jackson def. Andre Soukhamthath via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-27) Poliana Botelho def. Lauren Mueller via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Brandon Davis def. Randy Costa via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:12
Loads of decisions last night but the last two fights made up for it. Very high level stuff between Adesanya and Gastelum as well as Poirier and Holloway. Thought Gastelum was at a big disadvantage in terms of size and reach last night but made up for it with pressure and power. Very exciting fight and for the first time we saw Adesanya take damage. How lucky we are that Adesanya is not some 21-year old the UFC could put through the ringer as they tend to do. He's a mature fighter and ready for anything. Whittaker vs. Adesanya should be one of the biggest events in NZ sports supposing the UFC makes the obvious choice of hosting it in a stadium in Auckland. After that fight it was a treat to have another exceptional title fight. Holloway fought like he normally does, putting together exquisite combinations and attacking the body relentlessly. Yet Poirier was sturdy and didn't let the fight get away from him. Poirier maintained his jab all night and scrambled Holloway's eyesight. In the fourth round he landed a MT knee that split Holloway's eyebrow and changed the direction of the fight. Still, loads of back and forth action. I was a little surprised Holloway only took one round on the judge's scorecards as I had it 3-2. Excellent showing by the UFC and we got the right winners, too. Sets up nicely for the next round of fights. Holloway can return to FW and continue his dominance and we get what will be one of the biggest international MW title fights of all time.
Yeah, I don't agree with the judges scoring but I still had Dustin winning. I have a buddy who says it was a draw...I don't see that at all, Holloway got his ass beat. I do think it was 3-2 but I guess it all depends on how you score. I tend to score more for aggression, damage, and power strikes. I think jabs and pitter patter shots are the most overrated shit in MMA and boxing. If you don't follow it up with anything; its just annoying. Max had no power on his punches at all. Dustin was in a bit of trouble at the end of the 3rd, but it seemed to be more from exhaustion and Max's pace than actual damage and power from Max. Dustin on the other hand landed the stiffer, more powerful jabs, the big knee that split Max open in the 4th. Landed more powerful shots in the fifth and dictated where the fight when by driving Max to the cage to hold him there. Was it pretty, no..but Max couldn't do anything about it. Max couldn't get off the cage, therefore losing the octagon control battle, IMO. Max needs to stay at 145 or slowly graduate to 155. He needs to add more muscle and then make a cut...not just shorten his weight cut and stop it at 155. I think Max gets eaten alive at this rate at 155 by any of the top fighters. I think he loses to Khabib, Tony, Conor (yes, I think Conor is too precise and would put him out), Gaethje (basically Max but with power and deadly leg kicks), Dustin, and maybe Iaquinta. In all honesty, I fear for Max's health. He has no defense at all, he just eats punches with his face. The moment his chin breaks, his career is over. He is so hittable and at 155, he eventually gets put down.
