LAS VEGAS — It’s been an amazing 2023 already for UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski — regardless of the reality he’s formally 0-1 this month.
Volkanovski (25-2) seems to be to preserve his 145-pound championship this night towards intervening time identify holder Yair Rodriguez (15-3) in the primary match of the UFC’s illustrious UFC 290 Global Struggle While match within T-Cell Area. Volkanovski is going into the competition in a fix with light-weight champion Islam Makhachev as ESPN’s Negative. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter on the earth.
The Aussie champion got here up trim in a bid to dethrone Makhachev at UFC 284 previous this month in Australia. Even supposing Volkanovski misplaced to Makhachev by means of choice, the bout was once extraordinarily aggressive — way more so than some pundits predicted stepping into. Presently, it’s a main candidate for Struggle of the Moment, and Volkanovski is eyeing a possible rematch towards Makhachev then this month.
He has a troublesome job forward of him, alternatively, in Rodriguez, who gained the intervening time identify by way of filing Josh Emmett in February.
It can be a large night time for Mexican MMA, if Rodriguez topples the Negative. 1 fighter on the earth and flyweight champion Brandon Moreno (21-6-2) defends his identify towards Alexandre Pantoja (25-5).
Additionally at the card, middleweights Robert Whittaker (24-6) and Dricus Du Plessis (19-2) will glance to earn a day identify shot in a high-profile bout, and extremely touted probability Bo Nickal (4-0) will effort so as to add to the rising hype round his early profession.
Observe alongside as Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Jeff Wagenheim recap the entire motion, or watch the fights live on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
