Alexander Volkanovski, Yair Rodriguez Unification Clash to Headline UFC 290

The featherweight division will have an undisputed champion again
as Alexander
Volkanovski and Yair
Rodriguez have been booked to headline
UFC 290.

The main attraction of the upcoming pay-per-view event in Las Vegas
is the unification bout between 145-pound linear champion
Volkanovski and interim titleholder Rodriguez. In the UFC 290
co-headliner, Brandon
Moreno will face Alexandre
Pantoja. “International Fight Week” will also feature the
induction of former
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight king Robbie
Lawler’s UFC 189 clash with Rory
MacDonald in the Hall of Fame, with “Ruthless” then set to
compete against Niko Price in
a bout that has been promoted as Lawler’s final contest.

Volkanovski (25-2, 12-1 UFC) is looking to bounce back after
suffering his first promotional defeat, a unanimous decision loss
at the hands of current 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev at UFC
284 where “The Great” moved up a weight class but fell short of
becoming a two-division titleholder. Volkanovski will attempt the
fifth defense of the title he captured from Max
Holloway at UFC 245 in December 2019.

Rodriguez (15-3, 1 NC; 10-2, 1 NC UFC) won the interim championship
in the UFC 284 co-headliner after forcing Josh Emmett
to tap to a triangle choke in the second stanza. “El Pantera” is
4-1 in his latest assignments, including a no-contest with Jeremy
Stephens at UFC Fight Night 159. His record includes victories
over Brian
Ortega and Chan Sung
Jung, among others.

In his latest Octagon appearance, Moreno (21-6-2, 9-3-2 UFC)
overcame long-term rival Deiveson
Figueiredo via doctor stoppage at the end of Round 3 at UFC
283, unifying the 125-pound championship. “The Assassin Baby” had
already faced Pantoja (25-5, 9-3 UFC) once in May 2019, when “The
Cannibal” imposed his will en route to a unanimous decision at UFC
Fight Night 129. Now, Pantoja is looking to capture the flyweight
championship and add another win to his three-bout streak.

UFC 290 will go down at the T-Mobile Arena in Sin City. The main
card also sees a middleweight tilt between former divisional
kingpin Robert
Whittaker and Dricus Du
Plessis with a shot at Israel
Adesanya’s championship on the line. Also, Jalin
Turner takes on Dan Hooker at
lightweight and Bo Nickal
faces Tresean
Gore at middleweight.