Alexander Volkanovsky is still at the peak of his power. The City Kickboxing star showed off his physicality in the main event of UFC 290, defeating Yair Rodriguez via technical knockout Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Volkanovski finished the bout with a ground and pound strike at the 4:19 mark of the third round to rebound from a narrow loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 this past February.
“You have to expect the unexpected. Everyone who knows this game knows how dangerous it is… I flipped the switch this week,” said Volkanovski. “I’m the champ. I own this band. Nobody stops me.”
While Rodriguez (15-4, 10-3 1 NC UFC) did his best to threaten with his flashy toolbox of kicks, Volkanovski (26-2, 13-1 UFC) gradually broke down the Mexican foe. The Aussie stopped Rodriguez repeatedly in the opening ten minutes, methodically hammering the floor and pounding from the top. Rodriguez showed a sense of urgency early in the third frame, mixing punch combinations with kicks – a few of which garnered nods of recognition from his opponent. However, those kicks would also lead to his demise. Volkanovski set the stage for a sequence of finishing touches when he blocked Rodriguez’s kick with a powerful right hook. A groggy Rodriguez retreated to the fence, eating a knee and up in close quarters before being thrown to the canvas. From there, Volkanovski alternately smashed his opponent with left and right hands until referee Herb Dean had no choice but to pull him off Rodriguez.
“I knew when I started spinning wide he was going to change position, and I knew a right hook would be very good,” Volkanovski said.
Pantoja captures the flyweight crown at the Instant Classic
Alexandre Pantoja may have Brandon Moreno’s number.
In an epic flyweight championship that will go down in history, Pantoja claimed the 125-pound belt with a split decision victory over Moreno in the co-main event UFC 290. Derek Cleary and Junichiro Kamijou scored the bout 48-47 – both for Pantoja – while Ben Cartledge scored it 49- 46 for Moreno. Pantoja is now unofficially 3-0 against Moreno, with a decision victory at UFC Fight Night 129 and a submission victory at “The Ultimate Fighter 24” also on his ledger.
Pantoja threatened to make it a quick night. He knocked out Moreno with a short left hook to the chin early in the first round before catching his opponent to the floor and elbowing him from the top position. Moreno showed the champ’s resolve by making it to the end of the round, and what followed may rank as the best fight in the history of the division.
Moreno regained his bearings and Pantoja peppered the rest of the way with quick punches and right hands. He also grabbed his opponent open with a standing elbow in the third round. While Moreno kept the edge in volume during the exchanges, Pantoja continued to shoot under duress, although his power was never what it was in the opening segment. What really made the difference for the Brazilian was his ability to control the majority of faltering exchanges. Although he never threatened Moreno with a submission, Pantoja landed six takedowns and the final frame ended up having his Mexican opponent carry him like a backpack, an image that may have sealed his victory.
Pantoja has won his last four fights in the UFC competition.
Du Plessis stops Whittaker, and claims the No. 1 Contender
It would be wise to stop underestimating Dricos du Plessis.
With middleweight champion Israel Adesanya sitting next to his cage, Du Plessis took the No. 1 contender’s spot in emphatic fashion with a second-round technical knockout of Robert Whitaker. The South African finished the bout with a swarm of punches at the 2:23 mark of the second round. Du Plessis (20-2, 6-0) has won his last eight professional matches.
Whitaker (24-7, 15-5 UFC) appeared to be in control early on, effectively parrying behind his jab while avoiding the majority of his opponent’s offers. Du Plessis caught the momentum late in the first round, when he performed a jab takedown and opened up a huge cut near Whittaker’s right eye with an elbow from the top position.
Du Plessis built on that in the second verse, stumbling with Whittaker with a clean straight to the face. With the former champion staggering, du Plessis lunged punches to the head and body against the fence, forcing the unarmed Whitaker to fall to his knee. Still Knox continued shooting until Mark Goddard intervened on Whitaker’s behalf.
At the conclusion of the bout, Adesanya entered the cage to face Du Plessis, and the two middleweights exchanged words in the octagon. Adesanya is widely expected to defend his title against Du Plessis at UFC 293 in Sydney.
Hawker Edges Turner in a brawl
Dan Hooker shook off a slow start to capture a split decision victory against Jalen Turner in a back-and-forth lightweight competition. Derek Cleary and Ron McCarthy scored the bout 29-28 in favor of Hooker (23-12, 13-8 UFC), while Adelaide Byrd put up a 29-28 tally for Turner (13-7, 6-4 UFC), who lost weight by two pounds the day before. One.
What started as a technical issue gradually turned into a brawl. Turner dominated the range in the first round with standing jabs, straight punches to the head and kicks to the body. “Tarantula” continued that momentum early in frame two, when Hooker opened up with a clean header. But “The Executioner” turned the tide late in the round, abusing Turner and backing him into the fence with a flurry of punches. A naked choke hooker closed from behind to stop a wild run, but Turner was saved by the horn.
Turner appeared to be almost out of gas as the final frame began, and Hooker took advantage. Turner landed early in desperation, but Hooker poured it out after scrambling back to his feet. He pressed in with more punch combinations and sent Turner to the canvas with the attack. The City Kickboxing product then followed its opponent on guard, spending most of the rest of the frame maximizing control time, landing ground and pounds. The Fighters got back on their feet in the final moments, but Turner didn’t have enough time to turn things around.
Nickal earns the fifth place in the first round
Bo Nickal proved he was ready to step up in the competition, earning the fifth first round stop of his career against shortstop opponent Valentine Woodburn in a feature middleweight tilt. The former three-time NCAA National Champion wrestler needed just 38 seconds to remove Woodburn from the ranks of the undefeated.
Nickel (5-0, 2-0 UFC) didn’t need to use his vaunted wrestling this time around. He clipped Woodburn (7-1, 0-1 UFC) with a right hook during an initial exchange before putting his opponent on wobbly legs with a follow-up left hook. Moments later, he dropped Woodburn with a left uppercut and dived in to seal his victory with a right-hand rocket. That prompted referee Chris Tognoni to step in and save Woodburn from further punishment.
Continue reading “
UFC 290 Prelims: Robbie Lawler stars Niko Price in Swan Song