A Look Inside Both Title Fights at UFC 236

On Saturday, April 13 at UFC 236 there will be two belts on the line and a chance for the main event to make history as Max Holloway gets a long-awaited rematch against Dustin Poirier for the chance to become just the fourth two division champion in UFC history. Also, young rising star Israel Adesanya gets his chance at a title shot against interim champ Kelvin Gastelum.

Photo creds: MMAFighting.com

For this post I am going to give you all an inside look at the lead up to a large Pay-Per-View event the UFC puts on, this one in particular, being a fight card with two championship fights to top off the night. Both the main event and co-main event, the two title fights, have large implications on each division. The main event, a long awaited rematch between Max Holloway (current featherweight champ) and Dustin Poirier, is set for a five round interim Lightweight title fight giving Max Holloway the opportunity to become a two weight division champion. A rare accomplishment in the sport of MMA. It also gives the opportunity for long time veteran Dustin Poirier to become a champion for the first time in his career, which is an opportunity that is long overdue for the Louisiana native.

For the co-main event of the night, we have another interim championship fight as Kelvin Gastelum is matched against young rising star Israel Adesanya for the interim Middleweight title. Adesanya is looking to become a UFC champion after debuting just over a year ago as he has quickly climbed the rankings by dominating some top tier fighters. Gastelum on the other hand is looking for the opportunity to retain his interim title in hopes to get the unifying fight against current Middleweight champ, Robert Whittaker who has been sidelined for a lengthy duration due to an injury

* Quick bit of information for those that do not know, the interim title is a belt that is given to the number one contender in the division if that divisions champion is sidelined with a significant injury. The purpose of this is to create an interim champion so when the original belt holder comes back from injury, they can both fight each other and unify the belt declaring the winner to be the champion of that division. Make sense? *

Now that you have a little background on this event, lets take a look at each fighters story and how they earned the opportunity to get their shot at a title.

This first article is from MMAJunkie where they do a great job describing the career path of each fighter for the main event. It goes into detail about the first fight between these two and how the outcome shaped each fighter to where they are today. Even though their first fight was nearly seven years ago, it still shows how each fighter developed and how they earned their way back to the top. To read the article and watch the brief video, click here.

Now that you know a little about their first fight, take a look at the long journey that Dustin Poirier traveled to earn himself a title shot. Years in the making, the fan favorite fighter goes in detail about his journey to attempt to get gold. Read more of this great article from ESPN on Dustin's journey here.

Another great feature article from ESPN goes in depth about Max Holloway and how he can seek redemption after his loss to Dustin Poirier seven years earlier. A lot has happened since that loss, becoming arguably the greatest Featherweight champion in the UFC. Now he steps up a weight class to challenge Dustin for the interim Lightweight title. Read more about his journey to the top here.

To look at the co-main event title fight, check out this interview done by MMAFighting at UFC 236 media day of Middleweight title contender Israel Adesanya as he talks about his young career to the top. Only fighting in the UFC for a little over a year, he already has his eyes set on being champion. To hear more about his journey and his upcoming title fight, check out the interview here.

Kelvin Gastelum, current interim Middleweight title holder, is looking to move past Adesanya and get his shot as the true Middleweight champ. In his interview with MMAFighting, he discusses not only the upcoming title fight this weekend, but his situation and path traveled to become the interim Middleweight champ. To learn more about Kelvin, check out the interview here.

If you happen to catch this blog post after Saturdays UFC 236 co-main and main event , check the links provided above for updated stories, live stats, and fight results if you're interested. If these stories compelled you enough to see for yourself, order the Pay-Per-View or check your local bar as most usually air the fights for customers.