At UFC 290, held inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and interim champion Yair Rodriguez squared off against each other to determine who would become the undisputed title holder. Volkanovski rounded up the evening with a great performance and retained his championship by knocking out Rodriguez in the third frame with some devastating ground and pound.
But Volkanovski proved On Saturday the tight loss against Makhachev only served to sharpen his game, as he dismantled Rodriguez’s performance from the beginning to the conclusion.
To recall, back in February, at UFC 284, held in Perth, Australia, Rodriguez successfully defended his title and won the interim championship. On the same night, Volkanovski made a title challenge against Islam Makhachev for the lightweight championship, but he ended up losing by a split decision. Rodriguez’s performance against Josh Emmett was outstanding, and he finished the fight by submitting his opponent with a triangle choke in the second set. Because of this, he was awarded the interim championship and given the opportunity to challenge Volkanovski.
Alexandre Pantoja won the flyweight championship of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) after claiming a victory over Brandon Moreno in the fight that served as the co-main event. Pantoja came out on top in a judgment that was divided between three judges, with two of them giving him a score of 48-47 to win, while the third judge gave Moreno an exceptionally high score of 49-46 to win.
The tournament had already seen numerous first-round matches come to a conclusion when these exchanges tussle contributed to the already noteworthy highlights of the competition. Even though Moreno may be hurting from the loss, he can be proud of the fact that he turned in one of the finest games of his whole career. They worked together to produce a legendary fight that will go down in mixed martial arts (MMA) lore for all time.
Results and highlights from the main card of UFC 290
• Alex Volkanovski defeated Yair Rodriguez to win the featherweight championship through technical knockout (punches) at 4:19 of Round 3
• Brandon Moreno defeated Alexandre Pantoja through a split decision to win the flyweight title. The scores were 46-44, 48-47, and 48-47
• Dricus Du Plessis defeated Robert Whittaker in the middleweight division via technical knockout (punches) at 2 minutes and 23 seconds of Round 2
• Dan Hooker defeated Jalin Turner in the catchweight division (158 pounds) with a split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Bo Nickal defeated Val Woodburn in the middleweight division via technical knockout (punches) at 0:38 of Round 1
UFC 290 preliminary bouts and featured fights
• Robbie Lawler defeated Niko Price in the first round of the welterweight division with a knockout (punch) at 0:38
• Tatsuro Taira defeated Edgar Chairez in the catchweight division (130 pounds) by way of an overwhelming score (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Denise Gomes defeated Yazmin Jauregui in the women’s strawweight division via technical knockout (punches) at 0:20 of Round 1
• At the light heavyweight division, Alonzo Menifield defeated Jimmy Crute via guillotine submission at 1:55 of Round 2 (R2)
Early results and highlights from UFC 290’s preliminary bouts
• Vitor Petrino defeated Marcin Prachnio in the light heavyweight division through submission (arm triangle) at 3:42 of Round 3
• Cameron Saaiman defeated Terrence Mitchell in the first round of the bantamweight fight via technical knockout (ground and pound) at 3:10 of R1
• In the flyweight division, Jesus Aguilar defeated Shannon Ross via knockout (punch) in the first round at 0:17
• Esteban Ribovics prevailed against Kamuela Kirk in the lightweight division through a unified score (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Earl Berg is a seasoned technology writer at Digital Overload, bringing over 10 years of experience in the tech industry to his role. Earl’s passion for technology and his knack for translating complex tech concepts into understandable language make his articles a favorite among readers. His coverage spans a wide range of tech topics, from gadget reviews and software updates to innovative breakthroughs in the tech industry. Earl is dedicated to providing his readers with honest, unique, and insightful content, always with an objective and open-minded approach. When he’s not immersed in the tech world, Earl enjoys hiking and photography.