UFC 290 delivers a wild night of fights with unexpected results. Alexander Volkanovski dominates in the main event, while Brandon Moreno loses his flyweight title. Read more about the thrilling matches and surprising upsets.
| Key Points |
|---|
| Alexander Volkanovski returns to featherweight and defeats Yair Rodriguez in the main event. |
| Brandon Moreno loses his flyweight title to Alexandre Pantoja in a bloody war. |
| Dricus Du Plessis earns a shot at the UFC’s middleweight title after defeating Robert Whittaker. |
Combat sports fans were eagerly looking forward to UFC 290 as one of the year’s strongest fight cards, but no one could have predicted what a wild night the event was going to provide as part of International Fight Week at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Main Event: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez
The night’s main event saw Alexander Volkanovski return to the featherweight division after challenging lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 284. ‘The Great’ had already defended his title four times prior to his move up to lightweight, and he put on a dominant performance to close out the night by finishing interim titleholder Yair Rodriguez in the third round.
Co-Main Event: Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja
Brandon Moreno was tasked with defending his flyweight title against Alexandre Pantoja in the co-main event, but after a bloody war that may be a frontrunner for Fight of the Year, the Mexican lost his belt to the challenger via split decision.
Upsets and Finishes
The rest of the card featured some massive upsets, such as when Dricus Du Plessis stopped Robert Whittaker to earn a shot at the UFC’s middleweight title. There were also an incredible amount of finishes that occured just seconds after the opening bell, including Robbie Lawler knocking out Niko Price in the final bout of his legendary career.
Full Results
| Fighter 1 | Fighter 2 | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Jesus Santos Aguilar | Shannon Ross | def. KO: R1, 0:17 |
| Cameron Saaiman | Terrence Mitchell | def. TKO: R1, 3:10 |
| Vitor Petrino | Marcin Prachnio | def. Submission (Arm Triangle Choke): R3, 3:42 |
| Alonzo Menifield | Jimmy Crute | def. Submission (Guillotine Choke): R2, 1:55 |
| Denise Gomes | Yazmin Jauregui | def. TKO: R1, 0:20 |
| Robbie Lawler | Niko Price | def. KO: R1, 0:38 |
| Bo Nickal | Val Woodburn | def. TKO: R1, 0:38 |
| Dricus Du Plessis | Robert Whittaker | def. TKO: R2, 2:23 |
| Alexandre Pantoja | Brandon Moreno | def. Split Decision (48-47×2, 46-49) |
| Alexander Volkanovski | Yair Rodriguez | def. TKO: R3, 4:19 |
Stick with MMA Knockout for more daily coverage of the UFC and MMA. Follow MMA Knockout on Twitter and Facebook. By Drew Beaupré. Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, Bellator, PFL and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.
