Seven years ago, Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier met when both were starting their MMA careers. The rematch will come with much higher stakes as they clash in the main event of UFC 236 on Saturday night for the interim UFC lightweight title. The 13-fight UFC 236 card from State Farm Arena in Atlanta starts with preliminary fights at 8 p.m. ET, followed by the main card at 10 p.m. ET. Holloway (20-3) and Poirier (24-5) met at UFC 143 in February 2012. Poirier scored a first-round submission, part of a four-fight win streak to start his UFC career. That memorable fight also marked Holloway's debut with the promotion. Holloway has since gone on to win the featherweight title, while Poirier is now the No. 3-ranked lightweight. Holloway is a -240 favorite (risk $240 to win $100) against Poirier (+190, risk $100 to win $190) in the latest Holloway vs. Poirier odds after the line fell as low as -200. In the co-main event, top-five middleweight contenders Israel and Kelvin Gastelum meet for the interim belt. The former is a -160 favorite in the current Adesanya vs. Gastelum odds after the line rose as high as -175.
Before you enter any UFC 236 picks for Saturday, see what SportsLine's resident MMA guru, Kyle Marley, has to say. Marley won the first-ever "ToutMaster" UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and appears regularly on multiple MMA betting and DFS shows. He watches every single fight for every UFC card and does extensive research before each event. Over the past year, $100 bettors who have followed Marley's picks are up nearly $20,000. It's an astonishing cash rate that shows the depth of Marley's knowledge.
At UFC on ESPN 2 card, Marley told SportsLine members that Justin Gaethje (+115) would knock out Edson Barboza in a battle of top-10 lightweights. That's exactly what happened, as the bout turned into a wild brawl and Gaethje landed the knockout blow in the first round.
Moreover, at UFC 235, Marley predicted that underdog Kamaru Usman (+150) would upset champion Tyron Woodley (-170) for the UFC welterweight title. He predicted Usman's energy and activity level would be the difference in a unanimous-decision victory. He was on point again, as Usman took control from the opening bell to claim the title. In fact, he went 9-2 picking fights at UFC 235, and anyone who has followed Marley is up huge.
Now, with UFC 236 fast approaching, Marley has carefully studied every matchup for the 13-fight card, identified the best value in the UFC odds and released his MMA picks for every single fight. He's sharing them only over at SportsLine.
Marley knows that Holloway vs. Poirier 2 is the closest thing to a super fight that could be arranged in the lightweight division while Nurmagomedov serves his suspension for his actions following last year's bout with Conor McGregor. The fighters met seven years ago in the infant stages of their MMA careers, and Poirier gave Holloway a loss in his UFC debut by first-round submission. They have since taken different routes to become two of the most respected athletes in the sport.
The oft-injured Holloway, 27, is No. 4 in the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings. He has won 13 straight fights since a loss to McGregor and is coming off a spectacular knockout of previously unbeaten Brian Ortega in his last bout. The 30-year-old Poirier appears to be improving with each fight. He has won eight of his last 10 and his stoppage of Gaethje was one of the top UFC fights of 2018. Marley has locked in his plays, and he's only sharing his Poirier vs. Holloway picks at SportsLine.
For UFC 236, we can tell you Marley is backing Jalin Turner (-130) to defeat Matt Frevola (+110) in a lightweight undercard bout.
Turner (8-4) has won four of his last five fights and is coming off a knockout over Callan Potter at UFC 234 in February. Meanwhile, Frevola (6-1-1) looks to snap a two-fight winless streak following a defeat to Polo Reyes and a draw with Lando Vannata.
"I expect Turner to be the better fighter on his feet, while Frevola will look to get the fight to the ground," Marley told SportsLine. "Whoever has success keeping the fight where they want it should get their hand raised. However, the length of Turner and the pace he sets will cause issues for Frevola." Go with Turner over Frevola via TKO as one of your top UFC Atlanta picks for Saturday night.
Marley also has picks locked in for Poirier vs. Holloway, Gastelum vs. Adesanya and every other fight on this stacked UFC 236 card. Those selections are only available at SportsLine.
Who wins Poirier vs. Holloway and Gastelum vs. Adesanya? And how does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks for all 13 fights on the UFC 236 card, all from the incomparable expert who's up nearly $20,000 in MMA bets in the past year.
