The UFC interim middleweight title will probably be up for grabs after this spring, and I will offer my thoughts on the UFC’s most up-to-date name combat announcement in today’s MMA odds and ends.
UFC 236 vs. Kelvin Gastelum, israel Adesanya Together with UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker injured, the UFC has decided to create an interim belt and it’ll be at stake at the primary event at UFC 236, that is set for April 13 at a yet-to-be-determined location. In the blue corner will be Israel Adesanya, fresh off his win over Anderson Silva at UFC 234, while in the red corner will be Kelvin Gastelum, who had his fight against Whittaker taken away in the last second the afternoon of UFC 234.
The information of Adesanya vs. Gastelum was first reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. No location was announced, but rumors Twitter have the occasion pegged for Atlanta, Georgia, though that’s far from supported at this point.
Betting odds for the bout were released here on MMAOddsBreaker.
Creating an interim title will be contentious for some considering what occurred last year using Colby Covington and Tony Ferguson winning handheld belts and then not getting shots at the undisputed names, however it was a necessity due to Whittaker having not fought since last July against Yoel Romero. The UFC needed to maintain the middleweight division moving together in his absence, so as far as this writer’s opinion is concerned, an interim name at 185lbs was absolutely the right decision by UFC president Dana White and co..
As far as the matchup itself goes, the Adesanya vs. Gasltelum fight on paper seems like it has the capability to be a huge fight. Adesanya (16-0) is coming off of a decision win over the legend Silva and overall is 5-0 at the Octagon with other noteworthy victories over Brad Tavares and Derek Brunson. At age 29, Adesanya is smack dab in his prime and reveals improvements almost every moment we see him struggle. Surethe Silva struggle wasn’t his very best performance, but he got his hands raised, took no more harm in the process, along with the win ended up making him a title shot. Gastelum (15-3, 1 NC) is currently 10-3, 1 NC overall at the UFC and he’s got a 4-1, 1 NC record as a middleweight. Gastelum is coming off of back-to-back wins over Michael Bisping and Ronaldo”Jacare” Souza and at age 27 he’s right in his prime as well. The two Adesanya and Gastelum are two of the top middleweights on Earth at this time, and contemplating that the striking acumen of both men, this has got the capacity to be a firefight.
As far as the chances go, they haven’t been published yet, but I would expect the offshore sportsbooks to offer up something for the fight soon. If I had to guess, Adesanya are the betting favorite, although Gastelum absolutely will be a live dog in this fight as a result of his knockout power. It’ll be interesting to see what other fights are going to be added to UFC 236 in the coming weeks, but this interim name fight between Adesanya and Gastelum is a superb beginning to the card’s bookings.
Disclaimer: This page includes affiliate links and MMA Odds Breaker is going to be paid if you make a purchase after clicking on the links.
Read more: newsncarolina.com