One of the best events of recent memory took place this past weekend with UFC 290, featuring all-time classic fights, performances and moments throughout the card. Read our review of UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez below.
Find all the results from UFC 290: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez here.
Volkanovski Makes It Look Easy
In the UFC 290 main event, UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski staked his claim again to be the #1 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet with a third-round finish of Yair Rodriguez in a fight that provided a perfect ending to a near-perfect night.
Volkanovski utilised his trademark skills to limit Rodriguez’s varied offence, maintaining his striking defence from the outside, landing clean counters and well-timed takedowns time and time again. In the third round, Volkanovski landed a picture-perfect counter right hook which hurt Rodriguez.
Volkanovski then landed a combination against the cage before securing a takedown. From there, he reigned down blows on a shelled-up Rodriguez before the referee stepped in to secure Volkanovski his fifth title defence. In his post-fight Octagon interview, Volkanovski mentioned that he would need arm surgery, likely from a tough camp defending kicks with his forearms.
While it’s unclear at this stage how severe the injury is, Volkanovski will likely not be available for UFC 293 in Sydney or UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. This makes the Islam Makhachev rematch unlikely until next year, with undefeated phenom Ilia Topuria likely being the next challenger to Volkanovski’s Featherweight title towards the end of this year.
Read our preview of the UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez main event here.
Pantoja and Moreno Go Toe-To-Toe In 5-Round Classic
In the UFC 290 co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja finally broke through to become the new UFC Flyweight Champion against Brandon Moreno in a five-round war. While many expected the bout to be exciting, it lived far beyond any expectations, instantly becoming the favourite for the fight of the year.
Over five close rounds, the two men traded back and forth, with Pantoja pulling away through his takedowns and back control. On the feet, both men were hurt throughout, and despite being seemingly tired in the second round and eating clean punches from Moreno, Pantoja managed to maintain control and secure a decision victory.
While in a losing effort, Moreno adds another classic to his resume of Championship fights thus far and will definitely be back. Long considered a potential future Champion, Pantoja finally gets his belt, and his next bout may just come against Moreno once again.
The Road To Moreno vs. Pantoja 2: UFC 290 Co-Main Event Preview
Rest Of The UFC 290 Main Card
In a stunning moment, Dricus du Plessis secured his shot at UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya with a second-round finish of former Champion Robert Whittaker. Despite losing most of the first round, du Plessis managed to take Whittaker down towards the end to likely steal the round back. From there, Whittaker looked absolutely shell-shocked.
Du Plessis opened the second round with the same amount of success before hurting Whittaker with a jab and swarming him for the finish. With the biggest win of his career, du Plessis sets up a likely main event Championship fight against Adesanya at UFC 293 in Sydney in September.
Also on the main card, Dan Hooker secured a much-needed and somewhat surprising victory against Jalin Turner in an absolute firefight. Nearly finishing Turner in the dying seconds of round two, Hooker took advantage of a tiring Turner, utilising his unbelievable pressure to solidify his place amongst the best at Lightweight.
In the UFC 290 main card opener, Bo Nickal showed again why he could possibly be the greatest prospect of all time. Despite facing short-notice debutant Val Woodburn, Nickal was still impressive, this time showcasing his boxing to secure a first-round knockout and remain undefeated.
Robbie Rides Off With Ruthless Best
The UFC 290 featured prelim bout saw one of the sport’s all-time greats and former UFC Welterweight Champion, Robbie Lawler, end his career in perfect fashion with a 20-second knockout of Niko Price. Ruthless by name and ruthless by nature right until the very end, Lawler knocked Price out with some brutal clinch strikes.
A quiet-spoken veteran who managed to become a UFC Champion with a fighting style that was anything but quiet, Lawler was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame a few days before UFC 290 for his fight against Rory McDonald at UFC 189, which is widely considered the best fight of all time.
A fairytale ending to what was a fairytale career on a fairytale night.
Find all the results from UFC 290: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez here.