Ultimate Fighting Championship declared today that UFC 236 on April 13th will feature an interim middleweight title fight between top 185 pound contenders Kelvin Gastelum and Israel Adesanya.
Gastelum (15-3, 1 no competition ) most recently had his fight against middleweight champion Robert Whittaker cancelled at the last minute because of a hernia from Whittaker that required surgery. Whittaker is currently recovering from the injury and will come back in the second half of 2019. Prior to his fight cancellation, Gastelum earned a split decision over fellow leading contender Jacare Souza and knocked out former winner Michael Bisping.
Adesanya (16-0) has successfully transitioned from elite kickboxer to among the best strikers in mixed martial arts. “The previous Stylebender” has gone 5-0 in the UFC including current victories over contenders Brad Tavares and Derek Brunson in addition to former winner Anderson Silva less than two weeks ago in the replacement primary event for UFC 234.
Here’s what MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas had to say about the bout:
“Stylistically, if Adesanya can continue to keep this fight standing, he definitely has an advantage with his elite kickboxing history and striking skill-set. Gastelum has electricity on the toes and presents issues like a southpaw, but he’s almost certainly must take this fight to the floor to win it. It’s easy to assume this is an excellent stylistic matchup for Adesanya, but maybe we’re underestimating Gastelum here. Gastelum has confronted some of the best fighters in the world at middleweight as an undersized 185-pounder and has performed well. That having been said, Adesanya is on a crazy rise now has an enormous quantity of support in the betting public so I will open him as a -185 betting favorite with the comeback on Gastelum being +155.”
Kalikas opened the betting lines for Gastelum vs Adesanya via Bet DSI
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UFC 236: Gastelum vs Adesanya
April 13, 2019
Location: TBA
Main Event — Interim Middleweight Title
Kelvin Gastelum +155
Israel Adesanya -185

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