UFC 290 Fight Card: PPV Schedule, Odds and Predictions for Volkanovski vs. Rodríguez
Alexander Volkanovski is the long-reigning king of the featherweight division. Brandon Moreno has been playing hot potato with the flyweight championship over the last three years.
At UFC 290, Volkanovski will look to continue his reign of dominance while Moreno will trying to bring some continuity to his division.
Volkanovski will see Yair Rodríguez in the main event. The Mexican is coming off of a nice 3-1 run that includes a win over Josh Emmett in Australia to earn the interim title and this shot at Volkanovski.
Moreno will attempt to get on the board in a rivalry that has not been kind to him. Alexandre Pantoja has fought Moreno twice and came out on top both times. While one was officially an exhibition on The Ultimate Fighter it creates an interesting dynamic for their official rematch.
Here's a look at the complete card with previews and predictions for the featured bouts.
UFC 290 Fight Card, Schedule and Odds
Main Card (ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. ET)
Alexander Volkanovski (-380) vs. Yair Rodríguez (+290)
Brandon Moreno (-205) vs. Alexandre Pantoja (+175)
Robert Whittaker (-360) vs. Dricus Du Plessis (+280)
Jalin Turner (-285) vs. Dan Hooker (+240)
Bo Nickal (-2100) vs. Val Woodburn (+1100)
Prelims (ABC/ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET)
Robbie Lawler (+195) vs. Niko Price (-230)
Yazmin Jauregui (-380) vs. Denise Gomes (+290)
Tatsuro Taira (-975) vs. Edgar Chairez (+675)
Jimmy Crute (-140) vs. Alonzo Menifield (+120)
Early Prelims (ESPN2/ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET)
Vitor Petrino (-230) vs. Marcin Prachnio (+195)
Cameron Saaiman (-585) vs. Terrence Mitchell (+420)
Shannon Ross (+125) vs. Jesus Aguilar (-145)
Kamuela Kirk (+130) vs. Esteban Ribovics (-150)
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Volkanovski vs. Rodríguez
Alexander Volkanovski failed his attempt to become a two-division champion but it somehow made him seem even more formidable at featherweight.
Despite giving up a ton of size to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, he went all five rounds and only lost by one point on two scorecards. He proved to be tough as nails and capable of bringing the fight to the best lightweight going right now.
The oddsmakers are certainly giving him a ton of respect coming off the loss.
Rodríguez is coming off a solid run, but it's fairly easy to poke holes in it. The win over Jeremy Stephens was all the way back in 2019. He lost to Max Holloway although he did force him to utilize his wrestling and the win over Ortega was due to injury.
Still, Rodríguez is a dangerous striker who utilizes his length well.
It's always hard to tell when fighters are going to decline. In the lighter divisions it tends to happen more often where speed and athleticism play such a major role. Volkanovski is 34 years old and is five months removed from grueling five-rounder with Makhachev.
Call it a hunch, but the recipe for an unforeseen upset could be brewing.
Prediction: Rodríguez via decision
Moreno vs. Pantoja
Rubber matches are fascinating. The dynamics here have shades of Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya.
When Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja met on The Ultimate Fighter they were obviously unknown commodities trying to develop. So while it's hard to take too much away from the result it does show that Pantoja had a leg up on Moreno back then.
Obviously, Moreno has gone on to bigger things in the UFC, but Pantoja is no slouch. He has clearly improved since their 2018 meeting, going 6-2 with back-to-back submission wins over Alex Perez and Brandon Royval coming into this fight.
Much like Adesanya and Pereira, it was The Last Stylebender who was the more successful fighter but the Brazilian had his number. That was until Adesanya finally landed a knockout punch in the third fight.
Moreno ultimately claimed victory in his series with Deiveson Figueiredo, but Pantoja is a lot different fighter. His slick submission game could be an x-factor in this fight as both fighters are willing grapplers.
Prediction: Pantoja via third-round submission
Whittaker vs. Du Plessis
Dricus Du Plessis has earned a shot at the big time. Robert Whittaker is the perfect guy to do it.
Du Plessis has been making a strong case to get a fight against Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title. The two have a bit of history and Du Plessis has gone 5-0 since coming to the UFC with four of those five wins coming by knockout or submission.
The South African has legit power and is a nasty finisher with submissions on the mat.
But it's all still tools at this point. He's been able to overwhelm everyone he has seen in the UFC thus far and none of them are close to what Whittaker is.
Bobby Knuckles hasn't been able to best Israel Adesanya, but he's beaten everyone else. He's an all-terrain vehicle that can win a fight anywhere it goes. His well-rounded skill set and fight IQ are going to test Du Plessis.
If the rising star can beat Whittaker he's ready for a fight with Adesanya. Unfortunately for those that want to see that, he's not ready just yet.
Prediction: Whittaker via decision
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