UFC 290 takes centre stage this weekend for International Fight Week, headlined by Aussie champ Alexander Volkanovski who moves back down to Featherweight to defend his throne against Mexico’s Yair Rodriguez. In the co-main Brandon Moreno looks to ward off the challenge of long-time rival Alexandre Pantoja and Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis go toe-to-toe for the next crack at Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. We take a look at the main fights on the card below.
UFC 290 Preview & Betting Tips
Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez
Alexander Volkanovski moves back down to Featherweight to face Interim champ Yair Rodriguez this weekend. The Aussie has cemented himself as a Featherweight great with wins over Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes, The Korean Zombie, Brian Ortega and most impressive of all a three-peat over Max Holloway. He is incredibly technical, can mix his striking and wrestling together, is almost impossible to submit and has a bottomless gas tank.
Rodriguez burst onto the scene in 2015 as a flashy kickboxer with highlight reel knockouts. He had class finishes over The Korean Zombie, Dan Hooker and Andre Fili but also had dominant defeats at the hands of Frankie Edgar and Max Holloway. So is he the man to dethrone ‘Alexander the Great’? No. He barely scraped past Brian Ortega who he struck with and while he beat Josh Emmett for the Interim Title, he has been decisively beaten in every round by Ilia Topuria. Away from a freakish knockout, he doesn’t have a path to victory and Volkanovski is too smart to be caught by something crazy. While the odds are short, it is hard to see the Aussie not putting on an absolute clinic.
Alexander Volkanovski to win
$1.25 (2.5 Units)
Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja
Mexico’s Flyweight champ Brandon Moreno faces his bogeyman this weekend for the title, Alexandre Pantoja, who has beaten the champ both times they have faced. He has also been long overlooked and has both finished Moreno on TUF 24 and beat him in the UFC over three rounds in 2018. However, it is fair that he is the underdog considering Moreno has dominant wins over Deiveison Figuereido and a finish over Kai Kara-France.
With all that said though I am slightly leaning to Pantoja at the odds. He has a strong gas tank and is a finisher. I will only be playing small as I believe if it goes the distance Moreno will be able to eek out the win and he has made massive bounds since he was last beat by Pantoja. Small play on the underdog to make it three out of three against Moreno, wrapping up his neck and putting the Mexican to sleep.
Alexandre Pantoja to win by submission
$7 (1 Unit)
Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus Du Plessis
Honestly, I am shocked Du Plessis has gone on the run he has as he is a very limited fighter. He meets by far his toughest test to date this weekend in Robert Whittaker, who is better in every single aspect of MMA. The Reaper has an underrated grappling game to go with evasive striking that has seen him outwork everyone on the feet that is not named Israel Adesanya. I will bank on the Aussie to win and have a bit on him to earn his first stoppage since 2017.
Value: Robert Whittaker by KO/TKO - $2.50 (1 Unit)
Robert Whittaker to win
$1.30 (4 Units)
