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Israel Adesanya and Dustin Poirier won their interim titles on the same incredible fight card, UFC 236 (see the slo-mo replay), and UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker wants to recapture that magic in September. He wants to unify the middleweight belt on the same card with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Poirier.
The timeline seemingly works out, as Poirier has been pushing for a September date opposite Khabib, and the Dagestani lightweight champion agrees. Whittaker-Adesanya will probably be a stadium show in Australia. Whittaker rightly guesses that this is probably the biggest title fight with a similar timeline to his own; Khabib’s last fight, defeating Conor McGregor at UFC 229, garnered Khabib immense attention, especially as he ended that card flying out of the cage to attack McGregor’s teammates. Poirier, meanwhile, has become a newly minted legend among hardcore fans, defeating Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, and Max Holloway in his recent run.
Whittaker vs. Adesanya is a huge fight in it’s own right. Adesanya has superstar potential, and he won the interim title in an odds-on contender for Fight of the Year opposite Kelvin Gastelum. Robert Whittaker is a generational talent, though, and he is aiming to be the man who turns back the superstar’s rise, and perhaps takes that shine for himself. He has been, while still respectful, more outspoken in his criticism of Israel than he usually is, and that confidence speaks volumes. Lobbying for the biggest platform possible, alongside the biggest title fight going, is a savvy move. Khabib-Poirier won’t suck all the air out of the room the way a Brock Lesnar or Conor McGregor fight would, but it would draw additional attention to him and his fight with Adesanya. Moreover, there is an easy theme: interim champions vs. ‘real’ champions.
Insomnia
Don’t try it with this guy
This is a little wild to consider. Whittaker’s injuries have kept him out of the game for a long time, and Adesanya’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric.
I’ll tell you what’s crazy to me.
Israel made his debut on the day Robert was supposed to make his first title defence. Now Robert is going to make his first title defence against Israel.
Israel literally caught up in the race. Just amazing.
— ? M (@BlissedMMA) April 23, 2019
Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Cormier is very much in question
With Dana White revealing Daniel Cormier vs. Brock Lesnar “may not happen” after all, who should “DC” face instead? pic.twitter.com/LMVAbNEYNo
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) April 23, 2019
Someone gave Dillon Danis a book by Jean-Paul Sartre
A real man does not think of victory or defeat. He plunges recklessly towards an irrational death. By doing this, you will awaken from your dreams.
— Dillon Danis (@dillondanis) April 23, 2019
The next contender for Khabib Nurmagomedov’s title, right here
The Koala’s take down defense. pic.twitter.com/1Oa7g0kuyi
— Fearless Mina (@FearlessMina) April 24, 2019
Stipe Miocic wishes Machine Gun Kelly a happy birthday
Is Corey Sandhagen actually the next iteration of Dominick Cruz? More importantly, will he get past John Lineker this weekend?
Dominator 2.0? #UFCFtLauderdale (via @bokamotoESPN)
https://t.co/FXQrP3wNJF pic.twitter.com/3BiyZ75IZF
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 23, 2019
Several fighters were recently revealed to have been suspended for ostarine, which evidently didn’t even help them.
“PED” not really the best term. As far as anti doping goes there is no such thing as a “PED”, they are “prohibited substances”
And by all accounts, the levels in these four athletes samples were NOT performance enhancing anyway. https://t.co/LyUflScE3A
— Dave/Dim (@dimspace) April 23, 2019
Justin Gaethje and Rose Namajunas sparring must be interesting to watch
Rose Namajunas and Justin Gaethje are about to spar in Denver. Justin has been walking around as Rose warms up just repeating, “this is gonna hurt. This is gonna hurt.” Lol. pic.twitter.com/HRyeYCyPCP
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 23, 2019
Random Land
There was a range of possible years, but it is entirely possible this shark was alive when the Puritans were still crossing the Atlantic.
Based on samples taken from the lens of its eye this year, this shark was alive in 1672. pic.twitter.com/GmC6tcFIYi
— Charles Finch (@CharlesFinch) April 20, 2019
Sleep well, Maniacs! A better tomorrow is always possible. Follow me on Twitter and Facebook @Vorpality