UFC 236 rakes in nearly $2 million gate in Atlanta
The UFC octagon was in Atlanta, Ga. on Saturday for UFC 236: Holloway vs. Poirier 2 at State Farm Arena. The 13-bout fight card featured two interim title bouts and both instantly became Fight of the Year candidates.
14,297 spectators were in attendance generating $1,908,721 in gate revenue. It was the fourth event that the fight promotion has held at the venue. UFC 88, UFC 145, and 201 place also took place at the multi-purpose indoor arena.
Those in attendance witnessed Dustin Poirier defeat Max Holloway by un
animous decision in the fight card's main event to capture the interim lightweight title. Poirier had Holloway hurt several times in the fight, but "Blessed" refused to go away. The featherweight champion, Holloway, moved up a division to take on Poirier and there was a noticeable difference in power. The bloody battle earned Fight of the Night honors alongside the co-main event.
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Unbeaten Israel Adesanya defeated Kelvin Gastelum to win the interim middleweight championship in a fight that many are calling Fight of the Year. Gastelum knocked Adesanya down in the opening round, but the Nigerian adjusted and dominated the second round. Gastelum had Adesanya in serious danger in the fourth frame after landing a head kick. Heading into the final round, it was either of their fight to win. Adesanya rose to the occasion and knocked Gastelum down three times in the fifth round to solidify the victory.
UFC 236 attendance was the third highest for the fight promotion at State Farm Arena. UFC 88 in 2008 was headlined by Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans and had slightly higher attendance numbers with 14,736 spectators. UFC 145 in 2012 featured Jon Jones and Evans as the headliner and brought in 15,545 attendees. UFC 201 featuring Tyron Woodley and Robbie Lawler as the main event had 10,240 in attendance.
