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#UFC290 The main event is official!Dana White just dropped the entire main card for International Fight Week and it’s huge 🔥 pic.twitter.com/aoNWRRiJvb
– UFC (ufc)
May 10, 2023
The featherweight division will have undisputed champions once again as Aleksander Volkanovski and Yair Rodriguez are booked for the UFC 290 tournament.
The main attraction of the upcoming pay-per-view event in Las Vegas is the unification match between 145-pound lineal champion Volkanovski and interim owner Rodriguez. At UFC 290, Brandon Moreno will face Alexander Pantoja. International Fight Week will also include the induction of former Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champion Robbie Lawler’s UFC 189 clash with Hall of Fame inductee Rory MacDonald, with “Ruthless” next set to compete against Niko Price in a match promoted as a contest final lawler.
Volkanovsky (25-2, 12-1 UFC) is looking to bounce back after suffering his first promotional defeat, a unanimous decision loss at the hands of current 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 as he moved up the “great” weight class but failed to become pregnant. Two-part title. Volkanovski will attempt the fifth title defense he received from Max Holloway at UFC 245 in December 2019.
Rodriguez (15-3, 1 NC; 10-2, 1 NC UFC) won the interim championship at UFC 284 Intercontinental Championship after forcing Josh Emmett to tap a triangle choke in the second clip. “El Pantera” is 4-1 in his recent stints, including a no contest with Jeremy Stephens at UFC Fight Night 159. His record includes victories over Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung, among others.
In his latest appearance in the octagon, Moreno (21-6-2, 9-3-2 UFC) defeated long-term rival Deiveson Figueiredo via a doctor’s stoppage at the end of round 3 at UFC 283, to unify the 125-pound championship. “The Assassin Baby” had already faced Pantoja (25-5, 9-3 UFC) once in May 2019, when “The Cannibal” imposed his will on his way to a unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 129. Now, Pantoja is looking to take over for the flyweight championship and added another win to his streak of three bouts.
UFC 290 will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Sin City. The main card also sees a middleweight slant between former dean robert Whitaker and Dricos du Plessis with a shot at Israel Adesanya on the line. Also, Jalen Turner faces off against Dan Hooker at lightweight and Bo Nickal takes on Trizian Gore at middleweight.