Live, blow-by-blow updates for Saturday’s UFC 236 main card from Atlanta, Georgia, with two interim title fights on top.
Join us today (Saturday, April 13th) on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, round scoring, and play-by-play as UFC 236 goes down in Atlanta, Georgia.
We have a pair of interim title fights headlining this show. The main event pits Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier against each other once again, this time for the interim lightweight belt. Poirier submitted a then-debuting Holloway at UFC 143 in 2012, and now Holloway reigns as the men’s featherweight champion, whereas Poirier is an elite lightweight contender. The co-main features strikers Kelvin Gastelum and Israel Adesanya fighting for the interim middleweight strap.
This post will cover the PPV main card.
The show kicks off on UFC Fight Pass (and ESPN+ for PPV purchasers) at approximately 6:15 PM ET with four fights. The card then moves to ESPN at 8 PM ET for four more bouts, then onto the main card at 10 PM ET. The full lineup and schedule follows. The preliminary card will be covered in a separate post.
Check out this week’s MMA Vivisection for predictions, analysis and betting odds on the each matchup.
Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier – Interim lightweight title
Round 1 –
Round 2 –
Round 3 –
Round 4 –
Round 5 –
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Israel Adesanya – Interim middleweight title
Round 1 –
Round 2 –
Round 3 –
Round 4 –
Round 5 –
Eryk Anders vs. Khalil Rountree
Round 1 – Pretty much nothing happening through the first minute. Wicked leg kick by Rountree, though. And he loads up another one on the outside. One more leg kick but Anders counters him. Rountree firing haymakers and looking for KO shots. Anders isn’t checking any of these leg kicks. Left hand down the middle connects for Rountree. Another vicious leg kick by Rountree. Just a brutal assault of kicks from Rountree and Anders is just getting tattooed. Anders misses on a spinning elbow. Knee to the body by Rountree. Dominant first frame. 10-9 Rountree.
Round 2 –
Round 3 –
Alan Jouban vs. Dwight Grant
Round 1 – Jouban ties up Grant and gets the takedown, but Grant is back to his feet and Jouban just barely misses on the head kick. Two big punches by Grant but he only caught Jouban partially with one of them. Nice leg kick by Grant. Leg kick and two huge shots stun Jouban. Those were clubbing punches. Buckling leg kick by Jouban. Left hook thuds against Jouban’s face. Jouban connects with a left after touching up Grant with a jab. Grant clips Jouban with a wild right hand to end the round. 10-9 Grant.
Round 2 -Big right hand by Grant hurts Jouban as Grant charges forward. Jouban stays calm as they reset. Jouban doing a lot of feinting but not too much throwing right now. Leg kick by Grant, then another as he goes inside-outside. Good left hand by Grant. Jouban sneaks in a right. Jouban is successful on a body kick up to the chest and now there’s a brief clinch. Crowd is restless because not much has happened. 20-18 Grant.
Round 3 – Wicked left hands by Grant. And he lands a leg kick. Jouban clips Grant afterward. Good uppercut up the middle by Grant. Head kick by Grant is blocked. Jouban eats a countershot and for the most part he’s not doing a lot of throwing. Crowd is booing some more. Groin kick on Grant stops the fight for a brief period of time. Yup. No doubt about that one. Fight resumes with just over two minutes left and Grant scores with a couple of outside low kicks. Jouban gets hit over the top with a check hook. Nice leg kick by Jouban. Final minute to go, not a lot of urgency from either man. Jouban with a spinning kick and it was way off. Hard body shot by Grant. Jouban gets the takedown and gets in some nice ground-and-pound to end the fight. 29-28 Grant.
Official result: Dwight Grant def. Alan Jouban by split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
Ovince Saint Preux vs. Nikita Krylov
Round 1 – Early body kick from OSP, then a leg kick. He comes out firing quickly. Krylov tagging OSP early and often but Ovince gets the takedown. Nikita is back to his feet but is down again. He’s up again but OSP still has a leg. Krylov going for a front choke but doesn’t have it. OSP now against the fence. Excellent trip by OSP but he still can’t control Krylov. Now Krylov tries taking OSP down and that backfires off the whizzer. OSP in half-guard. Looking to go to full mount and he has it. Krylov gives up his back but OSP doesn’t take it, so they’re standing again. Good shots landed by Krylov. Body kick by Krylov. Now they’re up against the fence. OSP may already be tired. Head kick by Krylov just misses. 10-9 OSP.
Round 2 – Jab by OSP after Krylov landed a body kick. Good right hand by Krylov stuns OSP, who ties him up. Krylov stopping the takedown thus far. He takes OSP down and he’s in back mount. Krylov landing an elbow and going for the choke. It’s tight and it’s over.
Official result: Nikita Krylov def. Ovince Saint Preux via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:30 of round 2