UFC 290 “Volkanovski Vs. Rodriguez” + Weekly MMA Report
UFC Vegas 76 was a pretty fun card, but we witnessed many underdogs wins. Usually, favorites win in over 60 percent of fights, but the Strickland Vs Magomedov card was pretty weird. Benoit St Denis and Elves Brenner pulled out super-huge upsets with victories over dangerous Ismael Bonfim and Guram Kutateladze.
UFC Vegas 76 Rewards
Sean Strickland earned the Performance of the Night award for the brutal destruction of the former PFL champion Abus Magomedov in the second round. The second POTN was given to experienced Nursulton Ruzhiboev, who countered an undefeated Brunno Ferreira with a massive right hand and put him to sleep.
CLOSING THE SHOW IN ROUND TWO!!! 🤯@SStricklandMMA proving his experience tonight! #UFCVegas76 pic.twitter.com/5H0o6LSii1
— UFC (@ufc) July 2, 2023
Dropped him then followed up with vicious ground strikes 😳 #UFCVegas76 pic.twitter.com/7jVWKkEQMv
— UFC (@ufc) July 1, 2023
The Fight of the Night bonus went into the hands of Guram Kutateladze and Elves Brenner, who stood and bang for three rounds. The legendary Brazilian destroyed Georgian with a body shot in the third.
The APEX was going wild after this finish by Elves Brener! 🙌 #UFCVegas76 pic.twitter.com/9swCe1Vhyg
— UFC (@ufc) July 1, 2023
UFC 290 Announcement
After a few pretty entertaining Fight Night events, the UFC is finally making a PPV event, headlined by a 145-pound title fight between the legendary featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and Yair Rodriguez.
Photo: @UFCBrasil Twitter
Alex Volkanovski holds notable victories over many legendary 145-pound names – Max Holloway, Brian Ortega, Jose Aldo, and The Korean Zombie… he is one of the most well-rounded fighters in the history of the sport. In his recent outing, Alex cruised ten pounds north to square off against legendary Islam Makhachev. Many believe judges unfairly gave a unanimous decision nod to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s teammate.
Yair Rodriguez is the world-class kicker and elbow God. His reverse upward elbow knockout against Korean Zombie in the dying seconds of the fifth round is still one of the best stoppages the world has ever seen in the MMA community. Yair is known for powerful spinning kicks and counters, footwork, and amazing straight punches. In his last outing, he submitted legendary Josh Emmett via triangle choke, so he’s a pretty scrappy fighter off the back.
Prediction: Volkanovski to win
In the co-main event of the evening, Brandon Moreno is going to try to defend his 125-pound strap against dangerous striker Alexandre Pantoja. Moreno scored amazing victories over Kai Kara-France and Deiveson Figueiredo. The Mexican is a cardio God who never slows down, he’s feeling very comfortable in five-round wars.
Alexandre Pantoja is one of the most technical strikers on the 125-pound roster. The Brazilian powerful punches turned the lights out on many names, but he recently improved his ground game significantly. Interesting, Pantoja is a striker, but he defeated Brandon Royval and Alex Perez via submission in his last two outings, so we might see a real war here. Alexandre’s only problem is his cardio.
Prediction: Brandon Moreno to win
UFC 290 Fight Card
Let’s take a look at the UFC 290 full fight card below.
Main Card (ESPN+ PPV, 10 PM ET, 3 AM UK time)
UFC Featherweight Championship: Alexander Volkanovski (25-2-0) vs. Yair Rodriguez (15-3-0)
UFC Flyweight Championship: Brandon Moreno (21-6-2) vs. Alexandre Pantoja (25-5-0)
Middleweight: Bo Nickal (4-0-0) vs. Tresean Gore (4-2-0)
Middleweight: Robert Whittaker (24-6-0) vs. Dricus Du Plessis (19-2-0)
Lightweight: Dan Hooker (22-12-0) vs. Jalin Turner (13-6-0)
Preliminary Card (UFC On Fight Pass, ABC/ ESPN/ ESPN+, 8 PM ET, 1 AM UK time)
Welterweight: Robbie Lawler (29-16-0) vs. Niko Price (15-6-0)
Flyweight: Shannon Ross (13-7-0) vs. Jesus Aguilar (8-2-0)
Strawweight: Yazmin Jauregui (10-0-0) vs. Denise Gomes (7-2-0)
Lightweight: Kamuela Kirk (11-5-0) vs. Esteban Ribovics (11-1-0)
Early Prelims (ESPN+, UFC On Fight Pass, 6 PM ET, 11 PM UK time)
Light Heavyweight: Vitor Petrino (8-0-0) vs. Marcin Prachnio (16-6-0)
Light Heavyweight: Jimmy Crute (12-3-1) vs. Alonzo Menifield (13-3-1)
Bantamweight: Cameron Saaiman (8-0-0) vs. Terrence Mitchell (15-2-0)
Catchweight: Edgar Cháirez (10-4-0) vs. Tatsuro Taira (13-0-0)
Welterweight: Jack Della Maddalena (14-2-0) vs. Josiah Harrell (7-0-0)
UFC 290 Full Card Predictions
You can enjoy my UFC 290 full-card predictions below.
This is one of the greatest cards in the last few months. Sit next to your PC at 6 PM ET and don’t miss this amazing card, two title fights are heading your way!
