UFC 236 Predictions

This card has two amazing Interim Championship match-ups! Let me know how our #UFC236 predictions match up with yours in the comment section below!

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Light Heavyweight (205 lbs.) Bout: Ovince St. Preux (12) vs Nikita Krylov (NR)

Both men are in dire need of a victory in this bout. Krylov is coming off of a second round submission loss in his first bout back with the promotion and St. Preux is coming off of a decision loss in which he was outclassed the whole fight. These two competitors have already fought back in 2014 and OSP secured a POTN bonus after making Krylov tap within two minutes of the first round. With that being said, the first took place at a time when OSP was in his prime and Krylov was just trying to find his footing at 205 -- in that time Krylov has seemed to improve his game and OSP is approaching 37 years of age.

On Saturday look to see St. Preux try to looking to get Krylov to the mat to make him submit and see the Ukranian Krylov searching for a quick stoppage on the feet. I believe that the Krylov has grown in these past 5 years and is now a more complete fighter who will be able to get a big stoppage if he doesn't pulled into one of St. Preux chokes before that.

Prediction: Winner - Nikita Krylov via 1st Round TKO

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Welterweight (170 lbs.) Bout: Alan Jouban (NR) vs Dwight Grant (NR)

This fight was placed on the main card to entertain the fans. Alan Jouban doesn't disappoint when it comes to fight night and although Grant is known for having a methodical style I believe Jouban will push the pace to a point where Grant has to come right back at him. With this being said, fast paced fights are not Grant's wheelhouse therefore I believe that Jouban will take advantage of Grant's limited offensive skil-set using his superior technical skill, high pace and larger tool bag.

Prediction: Winner - Alan Jouban via Unanimous Decision

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Light Heavyweight (205 lbs.) Bout: Eryk Anders (NR) vs Kahlil Rountree (NR)

Much like the first bout on the main card, these light heavyweights need a win to get back on the rankings radar. This fight will most likely end in knockout as Rountree has a scary amount of power in his hands and Eryk Anders loves to rely on his athleticism, brawling ability and his toughness. Keeping these points in mind, Anders should be able to withstand Rountree's and if he can he should be able to secure a gritty win.

Prediction: Winner - Eryk Anders via 2nd Round TKO

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Middleweight (185 lbs.) Interim Championship Bout: Israel Adesanya (5) vs Kelvin Gastelum (4)

In my opinion this is the hardest fight to call; was leaning towards Gastelum due to him having MMA experience against the best of the best compared to the best opponent Adesanya has faced being Derek Brunson. With this in mind it warrants the question; "How is Adesanya's ground game?" It is a very hard question to ask because we haven't seen him in the octagon with an adversary possessing world-class grappling in his career. To the contrary of that point, Brunson may be passed his prime but he is still an excellent wrestler yet Adesanya's masterful striking neutralized all possibility of Brunson implementing any ground game and dispatched him in less than a full round.

Keep in mind that Kelvin Gastelum is on a whole different level than Brunson. His striking and grappling is very good and he is a complete fight. I believe that if he tries to keep the fight standing Adesanya will piece him up, therefore Gastelum's best chance is to drag the Nigerian-born middleweight to the mat and attempt to pound away until the ref steps in. There is a strong possibility that Kelvin Gastelum pulls this off, he has wins over many high-caliber strikers in the past so Saturday may not be any different.

The one aspect that changes when talking about Adesanya compared to other strikers taken on by Gastelum is that his wrestling and jiu-jitsu is complete unknown and untested. With what we have seen so far, his ground game could be on a level similar to that of Jon Jones who he can be compared to on the feet. In conclusion, although Gastelum has shown his experience and a very well-rounded game you can not discredit the dominance of Adesdanya's last three bouts. I think this could really be the future of the 185 pound division.

Prediction: Winner - Israel Adesanya via Unanimous Decision

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Lightweight (155 lbs.) Interim Championship Bout: Max Holloway (c - FW) vs Dustin Poirier (3)

On paper this fight seems the most straight forward on the entire main card. Both of these guys want the 155 strap very badly and will do anything to attain it. They are both high-paced, elite strikers who are always guaranteed to walk into that octagon and lay everything on the line to get their hand raised. Both fighter is as tough as nails and will walk through barrages of offense to get to their opponent.

This fight can be separated into three categories that will determine the outcome. The first category is striking ability, creativity and variety which I believe that Max has the advantage in based off his bouts with Aldo and Ortega where he just kept them guessing and to put it plainly he 'schooled' them. I don't want to take anything away from Poirier either because he has put on some great stand-performances in his last few outworking opponents; the one thing that puts Max over the edge here is creativity, Dustin's style is just too textbook in my opinion.

The next category is 'Drive'. Who has more drive to win and simply who wants it more? This one has to go to Dustin. Poirier has been on the cusp of a title shot for so long and is finally here ready to prove himself, on the other hand is Max Holloway who is currently the featherweight champion and has already spent a couple years sitting atop the throne. Poirier has never tasted the feeling of being the champion and that makes him want this win more than Max. This factor is extremely important as the mental aspect of the sport is crucial on fight night.

The final category that will be the deciding factor come fight night is toughness. We know that both of these guys can take a punch and we know for sure that they can hand them out but who will be the last guy standing? I believe that it will be Max Holloway for multiple reasons: he is younger than Poirier and has taken less hits to the head overall in his career, his chin has looked phenomenal his last few fights where as Poirier has been in trouble, Poirier has also been KO'd and TKO'd before where as Max has only been submitted or lost via decision.

With this being said, the fight game is never this simple and anything can happen come Saturday so be prepared for a high-paced, hard-hitting, high-level main event!

Prediction: Winnner - Max Holloway via 4th Round TKO