UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodríguez
The poster for UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodríguez
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateJuly 8, 2023 (2023-07-08)
VenueT-Mobile Arena
CityParadise, Nevada, United States
Attendance19,204[1]
Total gate$9,750,000[1]
Event chronology
UFC on ESPN: Strickland vs. Magomedov UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodríguez UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Bueno Silva

UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodríguez was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 8, 2023, at the T-Mobile Arena facility in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[2]

Background

A UFC Featherweight Championship unification bout between current champion Alexander Volkanovski and interim champion (also The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America featherweight winner) Yair Rodríguez headlined the event.[3]

A UFC Flyweight Championship bout between current two-time champion Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja took place at the event.[4] The pair first met in an exhibition bout on The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions in 2016 which Pantoja won by second round submission.[5] They also met at UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman in 2018 which Pantoja won by unanimous decision.[6] Brandon Royval served as backup and potential replacement for this fight.[7]

A UFC Middleweight title eliminator between former champion (also The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes welterweight winner) Robert Whittaker and former KSW Welterweight Champion Dricus du Plessis took place at the event.[8]

Former UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler took on Niko Price in a welterweight bout at the event in his retirement fight.[9][10]

A lightweight bout between Jalin Turner and Dan Hooker took place at the event.[9] They were previously scheduled to meet at UFC 285 but Hooker withdrew due to injury.[11] At the weigh-ins, Turner weighed in at 158 pounds, two pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined 20% of his purse which went to Hooker.[12]

A flyweight bout between former two-time flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and former Rizin Bantamweight Champion Manel Kape was expected to take place at the event.[13] However, Figueiredo withdrew in late April after he was not medically cleared to compete.[14][15] The UFC officially cancelled the bout on May 13 after it was announced that Figueiredo would be moving to the bantamweight division.[16] Kape is now expected to face former interim flyweight title challenger Kai Kara-France at UFC 293.[17]

Christian Rodriguez and Cameron Saaiman were scheduled to meet in a bantamweight bout at the preliminary card.[18] In turn, Rodriguez pulled out in late June and was replaced by promotional newcomer and former The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions cast member Terrence Mitchell.[19]

A welterweight bout between Jack Della Maddalena and Sean Brady was expected to take place at the event.[20] However, Brady withdrew a week before the event due to a Streptococcus pyogenes infection on his elbow.[21] He was replaced by promotional newcomer Josiah Harrell.[22] In turn the day before the event, Harrell was pulled from the fight due to being diagnosed with Moyamoya disease during his pre-fight medical screening.[23]

A middleweight bout between Bo Nickal and Tresean Gore was expected to take place at the event.[24] However, Gore withdrew just days before the event due to a torn ligament in his wrist.[25] He was replaced by promotional newcomer Val Woodburn, who was scheduled to fight at Dana White's Contender Series on August 29.[26]

Results

Main card
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Featherweight Alexander Volkanovski (c) def. Yair Rodríguez (ic) TKO (punches) 3 4:19 [a]
Flyweight Alexandre Pantoja def. Brandon Moreno (c) Decision (split) (46–49, 48–47, 48–47) 5 5:00 [b]
Middleweight Dricus du Plessis def. Robert Whittaker TKO (punches) 2 2:23 [c]
Catchweight (158 lb) Dan Hooker def. Jalin Turner Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Middleweight Bo Nickal def. Val Woodburn TKO (punches) 1 0:38
Preliminary card (ABC / ESPN / ESPN+)
Welterweight Robbie Lawler def. Niko Price KO (punches) 1 0:38
Catchweight (130 lb) Tatsuro Taira def. Édgar Cháirez Decision (unanimous) (29–27, 29–27, 29–27) 3 5:00
Women's Strawweight Denise Gomes def. Yazmin Jauregui TKO (punches) 1 0:20
Light Heavyweight Alonzo Menifield def. Jimmy Crute Submission (guillotine choke) 2 1:55
Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Light Heavyweight Vitor Petrino def. Marcin Prachnio Submission (arm-triangle choke) 3 3:42
Bantamweight Cameron Saaiman def. Terrence Mitchell TKO (punches) 1 3:10
Flyweight Jesús Santos Aguilar def. Shannon Ross KO (punch) 1 0:17
Lightweight Esteban Ribovics def. Kamuela Kirk Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
  1. ^ For the UFC Featherweight Championship.
  2. ^ For the UFC Flyweight Championship.
  3. ^ UFC Middleweight title eliminator.

[27]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Mike Bohn (2023-07-09). "UFC 290 post-event facts: Alexandre Pantoja benefits from rare split decision title change". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  2. ^ Jesse Holland (2023-03-02). "UFC 290 official for July 8 as part of 'International Fight Week' in Las Vegas". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  3. ^ Jesse Holland (2023-04-06). "Alexander Volkanovski vs Yair Rodriguez title fight on tap for UFC 290 in July". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
  4. ^ Marc Raimondi (2023-04-12). "Brandon Moreno to face old rival Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 290". espn.com. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  5. ^ Jeff Cain (2016-09-01). "The Ultimate Fighter 24, Episode 1: Tournament of Champions begins". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  6. ^ Staff (2018-05-18). "UFC Fight Night 129 'Maia vs. Usman' play-by-play, results & round-by-round scoring". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  7. ^ Nolan King and MMA Junkie Radio (2018-05-24). "Brandon Royval: My UFC 290 backup role proof fighters should self-advocate, call their shots". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  8. ^ Mike Bohn (2023-04-21). "Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus Du Plessis added to UFC 290; Dana White says winner gets Israel Adesanya". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  9. ^ a b Nolan King (2023-04-21). "UFC 290 adds Robbie Lawler vs. Niko Price, Dan Hooker vs. Jalin Turner". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  10. ^ Mike Bohn (2023-05-10). "Dana White: Robbie Lawler to retire after UFC 290 fight with Niko Price". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  11. ^ Nolan King (2023-02-08). "Injured Dan Hooker out of UFC 285 bout vs. Jalin Turner". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  12. ^ Staff (2023-07-07). "UFC 290 weigh-in results: Title fights set, but one main card fighter heavy in Las Vegas". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  13. ^ Jesse Holland (2023-04-13). "Deiveson Figueiredo vs Manel Kape flyweight banger on tap for UFC 290". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  14. ^ Guilherme Cruz (2023-04-26). "Deiveson Figueiredo out of UFC 290 fight with Manel Kape, still not medically cleared to compete". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  15. ^ Fernando Quiles (2023-05-11). "Deiveson Figueiredo disputes Dana White's claim that he's fighting Manel Kape at UFC 290". bjpenn.com. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  16. ^ Marc Raimondi (2023-05-13). "Figueiredo officially out of flyweight contender bout vs. Kape". espn.com. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  17. ^ Farah Hannoun (2023-06-20). "Kai Kara-France vs. Manel Kape targeted for UFC 293 in Sydney". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  18. ^ Mike Heck (2023-05-04). "Christian Rodriguez vs. Cameron Saaiman in the works for UFC 290". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  19. ^ Nolan King (2023-06-22). "Cameron Saaiman gets new UFC 290 opponent after Christian Rodriguez withdrawal". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  20. ^ Tristen Critchfield (2023-04-23). "Jack Della Maddalena vs. Sean Brady targeted for UFC 290". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  21. ^ Alex Behunin (2023-06-30). "Sean Brady injured, out of UFC 290 bout against Jack Della Maddalena". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  22. ^ Shaun Al-Shatti (2023-07-02). "Jack Della Maddalena vs. Josiah Harrell set for UFC 290 following Sean Brady injury". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  23. ^ Marc Raimondi (2023-07-07). "Newcomer Josiah Harrell out of UFC 290 with brain disease". espn.com. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  24. ^ Brett Okamoto (2023-04-08). "Bo Nickal to face Tresean Gore at UFC 290 on July 8 in Vegas". espn.com. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  25. ^ Jesse Holland (2023-07-04). "'Bummed' Tresean Gore reveals injury that scrapped Bo Nickal fight at UFC 290 — 'I will still be champion'". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  26. ^ Nolan King (2023-07-04). "Bo Nickal gets newcomer Val Woodburn at UFC 290 as late replacement". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  27. ^ "UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodríguez". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  28. ^ Matt Erickson (2023-07-09). "UFC 290 bonuses: Only one of the sub-40-second stoppages got an extra $50,000". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
Categories