Liveupdated
Re-live updates from two titles fights and a stacked undercard in Las Vegas
Alexander Volkanovski continued his dominant run atop the UFC featherweight division on Saturday, stopping interim champion Yair Rodriguez to unify the titles.
Volkanovski controlled the Mexican on the mat for most of the first two rounds, and just when Rodriguez began to flicker into life in the striking exchanges, Volkanovski fired back with a hard right hook to set up a ground-and-pound finish in Round 3.
In the co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja won a thrilling, back-and-forth battle with Brandon Moreno, taking the flyweight title from the Mexican with a split-decision win. The victory also saw the Brazilian move to 3-0 against two-time champion Moreno, whom Pantoja also beat in 2016 and 2018.
Earlier in the night, South Africa’s Dricus Du Plessis stunned Robert Whittaker, beating the ex-middleweight champion via TKO before facing off with reigning title holder Israel Adesanya in a heated exchange. All the while, ex-US president Donald Trump watched on from ringside.
Also, former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler won his retirement fight by knocking out Niko Price inside the first minute, Dan Hooker outpointed Jalin Turner despite suffering a broken arm, and Bo Nickal knocked out Val Woodburn to move to 5-0 with a fifth first-round finish. Re-live UFC 290 below.
Recommended
- UFC 290: Alexander Volkanovski stops Yair Rodriguez on wild night of fights
- Donald Trump high-fives fans at UFC 290 in Las Vegas
- Conor McGregor shoves Michael Chandler in the face amid coaching criticism
UFC 290 LIVE: Alexander Volkanovski def. Yair Rodriguez
Alexander Volkanovski continued his dominant run atop the UFC featherweight division on Saturday, stopping interim champion Yair Rodriguez to unify the titles.
Volkanovski controlled the Mexican on the mat for most of the first two rounds, and just when Rodriguez began to flicker into life in the striking exchanges, Volkanovski fired back with a hard right hook to set up a ground-and-pound finish in Round 3.
With the result at Las Vegas’s T-Mobile Arena, the Australian not only retained his featherweight title but bounced back from a narrow loss to Islam Makhachev – Volkanovski’s first defeat in 10 years, and one that occurred when the 34-year-old challenged for the lightweight belt in February.
Full UFC 290 report and results:
Alexander Volkanovski stops Yair Rodriguez on wild night of fights at UFC 290
Earlier in the night: The men’s flyweight title changed hands, Dricus Du Plessis stunned Robert Whittaker, and Robbie Lawler retired with a knockout win
Alex Pattle9 July 2023 06:47
UFC 290 LIVE: Alexander Volkanovski def. Yair Rodriguez
Is Ilia Topuria next for Volkanovski?
Alex Pattle9 July 2023 06:49
UFC 290 LIVE: Alexander Volkanovski def. Yair Rodriguez
Volkanovski speaks to his fellow Australians:
Alex Pattle9 July 2023 06:48
UFC 290 LIVE: Alexander Volkanovski def. Yair Rodriguez
Alex Pattle9 July 2023 06:36
UFC 290 LIVE: Alexander Volkanovski def. Yair Rodriguez
Dan Hooker just posted an X-ray image online; he suffered a broken arm in his win over Jalin Turner earlier!
Alex Pattle9 July 2023 06:23
UFC 290 LIVE: Alexander Volkanovski def. Yair Rodriguez
Alex Pattle9 July 2023 06:17
UFC 290 LIVE: Alexander Volkanovski def. Yair Rodriguez
Volkanovski calls out Ilia Topuria, who is at ringside, but he also says he wants to go for the lightweight title again.
Alex Pattle9 July 2023 06:13
UFC 290 LIVE: Alexander Volkanovski def. Yair Rodriguez
Volkanovski: “I’ve got to be honest: Throughout camp, there was a bit of fear there – for over his striking and how dangerous he is. That’s the honest truth.”
Alex Pattle9 July 2023 06:11
UFC 290 LIVE: Alexander Volkanovski vs Yair Rodriguez
Alexander Volkanovski def. Yair Rodriguez via third-round TKO (punches, 4:19).
Alex Pattle9 July 2023 06:09
UFC 290 LIVE: Alexander Volkanovski vs Yair Rodriguez
Round 3
Referee Herb Dean to Rodriguez: “This is a hard warning... don’t bring me into this fight.” He references Yair grabbing ahold of Volk’s gloves and digging his toes into the fence across the first couple of rounds.
Stabbing right cross from Volkanovski. Rodriguez flicks out front kicks, then a head kick that is blocked. Both fighters switch stances back and forth.
Volkanovski tries to grab a single-leg, but his challenger wriggles free. Nice step-in right hook to the head by Volk, though.
There’s a clash of heads, and we’ll have a pause in the action. Rodriguez actually came off worse; it’s like Volk, the shorter fighter, accidentally headbutted him on the chin while closing range.
We’re back under way. Slick one-two and low kick from Yair, who then repeats the one-two but kicks high. Volk fires back with a big right hook, though! He swarms Rodriguez, dumps him to the mat, and keeps punching!
Yair covers up and hits the mat! More punches from Volk... AND HERB DEAN STEPS IN!
Wowwwwww. It’s almost like Volk was annoyed by those two quick combinations from Rodriguez, and decided to get him out of there within SECONDS.
Alex Pattle9 July 2023 06:07
Newer
Older
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
