VIDEO: Alexander Volkanovski Dominates Yair Rodriguez At UFC 290
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.
(UFC)
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.
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.
(UFC)
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.
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You can find highlights from the event below, as well as the full results for every fight.
Jesus Santos Aguilar def. Shannon Ross
Cameron Saaiman def. Terrence Mitchell
Vitor Petrino def. Marcin Prachnio
Alonzo Menifield def. Jimmy Crute
Denise Gomes def. Yazmin Jauregui
Robbie Lawler def. Niko Price
Bo Nickal def. Val Woodburn
Dricus Du Plessis def. Robert Whittaker
Alexandre Pantoja def. Brandon Moreno
Alexander Volkanovski def. Yair Rodriguez
Main Card (ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET)
• Main Event: Alexander Volkanovski def. Yair Rodriguez via TKO: R3, 4:19
• Co-Main Event: Alexandre Pantoja def. Brandon Moreno via Split Decision (48-47x2, 46-49)
• Dricus Du Plessis def. Robert Whittaker via TKO: R2, 2:23
• Dan Hooker def. Jalin Turner via Split Decision (29-28x2, 28-29)
• Bo Nickal def. Val Woodburn via TKO: R1, 0:38
Prelims (ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, 8:00 p.m. ET)
• Robbie Lawler def. Niko Price via KO: R1, 0:38
• Tatsuro Taira def. Edgar Chairez via Unanimous Decision (30-29-27x3)
• Denise Gomes def. Yazmin Jauregui via TKO: R1, 0:20
• Alonzo Menifield def. Jimmy Crute via Submission (Guillotine Choke): R2, 1:55
Early Prelims (ESPN+, 6:00 p.m. ET)
• Vitor Petrino def. Marcin Prachnio via Submission (Arm Triangle Choke): R3, 3:42
• Cameron Saaiman def. Terrence Mitchell via TKO: R1, 3:10
• Jesus Santos Aguilar def. Shannon Ross via KO: R1, 0:17
• Esteban Ribovics def. Kamuela Kirk via Unanimous Decision (29-28x3)
VIDEO: Alexandre Pantoja Upsets Champion Brandon Moreno in Bloody War at UFC 290
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