If all goes according to plan, both interim winners at UFC 236 will get a chance to unify their belts at major international events in September.
I know spring has barely sprung for most people and we’d all like summer to last as long as possible, but the UFC is making a pretty decent case for getting excited about the fall. Following a big night of interim championship fights at UFC 236, both the lightweight and middleweight interim belts are being targeted for unification in September.
Dana White confirmed the UFC is working on putting Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker together in Australia, laying down his plans in a backstage interview with TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter.
”We were gonna do that fight in the States,” White admitted. “But I completely changed my mind after tonight, that fight is definitely going to be somewhere in Australia. Yeah, this will be a massive stadium show in Australia. We’d be looking at September.”
Israel Adesanya shared his thoughts on that at the post-fight press conference.
According to Dana White, the UFC is targeting September for Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya and hopes to have it take place at a stadium in Australia. pic.twitter.com/wVX0NCIQf9
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) April 14, 2019
”It could be in Australia, but Auckland I think is a viable option, as well,” he said. “We can push back and forth, because he is a born Kiwi but he’s a Maussie [Maori-Australian]. He’s representing Australia.
He also made it clear he needed to heal up before locking in a firm return date.
”When I’ll be ready again? [Whittaker] says August. I say let me go shower first. I want to be able to just close my mouth properly first, and then we’ll see.”
As for Dustin Poirier vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov, reports have been coming out fast and furious regarding another September show in Abu Dhabi. After Poirier won, Nurmagomedov took to Twitter to say “See you in September!” And while Dana White is still playing mum on Abu Dhabi as a locked in thing, he did confirm the expected timeline.
“Yes, that’s the fight,” White said during his 20 minutes at the post-fight presser. “Poirier will fight Khabib next, probably in September.”
If things fall into place, September is going to be a fire month for UFC fans.