Max Holloway will look to become the next champ champ in the UFC when he meets Dustin Poirier for a 155-pound interim title at UFC 236.
The odd man out of the lightweight title picture, for now at least, looks to be Tony Ferguson. Instead of El Cucuy getting another shot to win a 155-pound interim title, the UFC will go with a bout between current featherweight champ Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier for the interim belt.
The fight will headline UFC 236 on April 13th in Atlanta. UFC president Dana White confirmed the news to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.
Holloway (20-3, 16-3 UFC) will look to become the latest dual UFC champion, and is coming off a successful featherweight title defense against Brian Ortega at UFC 231 in December. He is currently on a 13-fight winning streak.
Poirier (24-5, 1 NC, 16-4, 1 NC UFC) is coming off three huge wins in a row, stopping Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje, and most recently Eddie Alvarez with strikes inside the distance. He had been expected to fight Nate Diaz late last year, but he was forced out of the fight with an injury.
The reason for this interim title is due to the fact that full lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov is currently suspended due to his actions following his UFC 229 win over Conor McGregor. He was suspended for a total of nine months, but says he will sit out until November in solidarity with his teammates that were given 12-month suspensions for their role in things.
UFC 236 is also expected to host a middleweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum.