Holloway vs. Poirier set for INTERIM LW title at UFC 236

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MovinOn

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Jan 3, 2018
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An interim lightweight title fight between featherweight champion Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier will headline UFC 236 on April 13, UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Friday.

The UFC 236 pay-per-view event will take place at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. An interim middleweight title fight between Kelvin Gastelum and Israel Adesanya will serve as the co-main event.

Khabib Nurmagomedov (27-0), the UFC's undefeated lightweight champion, is currently serving a nine-month suspension for his role in a postfight brawl at UFC 229 in October. Nurmagomedov could have been eligible by April 13 had he filmed an anti-bullying message in Nevada, but he has stated he does not intend to return until this fall.

The UFC has opted to create an interim 155-pound title in his absence. According to sources, the UFC also discussed a bout between Holloway and former interim champion Tony Ferguson, but ultimately landed on the Holloway-Poirier matchup.

Holloway (20-3) will hang on to his 145-pound title in the move. The Hawaiian champion is riding a 13-fight win streak, and is the No. 4 pound-for-pound fighter in the world according to ESPN.

Holloway-Poirier set to headline UFC 236

Remember, Dustin holds a sub victory over Max...

 
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Dick Niaz

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If the UFC was going to do a LW interim title, then WHY THE FUCK wouldn’t they have booked GSP / Khabib?!?!? If Khabib wins he fights the winner of Max/Dustin for the undisputd title. If GSP wins, he relinquishes the title and once again Khabib fights the the winner of Max/Dustin for the undisputed title. It would be the same end result either way.

The only difference is the UFC would get the second biggest PPV draw of all time and the arguable GOAT back in the cage for one more monster show! WTF am I missing?!?!
 

MovinOn

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WTF am I missing?!?!
Khabib's suspension. He can't return before July 6. Says he won't fight until November for personal/religious reasons. Dana's itching for a LW title fight before then and undoubtedly wants to send a message to Khabib that he's not going to hold up the division.

In addition, the Khabib/GSP fight left the real possibility that St. Pierre wins convincingly and then retires. Khabib would lose some of his shine too.
 
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Dick Niaz

Yearning for TMMAC days gone by
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Khabib's suspension. He can't return before July 6. Says he won't fight until November for personal/religious reasons. Dana's itching for a LW title fight before then and undoubtedly wants to send a message to Khabib that he's not going to hold up the division.
Right...that is implied in the scenario I described. If Khabib is out until Nov, the UFC is going to do an interim title before then regardless. If they can get an interim champ in the spring/summer, they could have GSP/Khabib fight in Nov, and a mega fight between those winners Super Bowl Weekend. If GSP were to win but relinquish you would still have your interim champ and Khabib would fifht them anyway. Different routes to the same ending.
 

Freeloading Rusty

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I can't think of a good reason not to strip Khabib. He's suspended because of his own stupidity.
Khabib is eligible to fight in a few months. Stripping him would be silly. How about not do an interim belt for a champ that has been inactive for less than a year.
 

BeardOfKnowledge

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Jul 22, 2015
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Khabib is eligible to fight in a few months. Stripping him would be silly. How about not do an interim belt for a champ that has been inactive for less than a year.
How about if you can't defend and it isn't due to injury, you also can't be the champion.
 

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
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How about if you can't defend and it isn't due to injury, you also can't be the champion.
So where do you officially set the bar (time wise)?

What is the time line a champion should have to defend their belt? Every 4 months? Every 8 Months? Minimum twice per year?
 

Dick Niaz

Yearning for TMMAC days gone by
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Thinking more about the matchup itself now..... I mean no exaggeration when I say this fight has the potential to be one of the most exciting MMA fights in history. Neither of these guys has any quit - they would gladly die in the cage if need be. Both are well rounded and in their primes. They could put any shit fights they want on the undercard and I would gladly pay for this one.




@riverexchange
 

Sheepdog

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Khabib is eligible to fight in a few months. Stripping him would be silly. How about not do an interim belt for a champ that has been inactive for less than a year.
Who cares when he is eligible? He himself has stated that he won't fight for more than a year after last defending the belt.

It's fine to make the pragmatic argument that it would be silly of the UFC to strip him for business reasons, but to state that he deserves to be able to just hijack the belt because he feels like it is ridiculous.
 

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
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Who cares when he is eligible? He himself has stated that he won't fight for more than a year after last defending the belt.

It's fine to make the pragmatic argument that it would be silly of the UFC to strip him for business reasons, but to state that he deserves to be able to just hijack the belt because he feels like it is ridiculous.
Its been 4-5 months since he last fought. He is eligible to fight in a few months. Hijack the belt? Shiit son come on meow.