UFC 290: Volkanovski KOs and retains belt; Pantoja wins flyweight title

The Australian and the Brazilian left the T-Mobile Arena as champions

UFC 290, this Saturday (8), in Las Vegas, had it all. Farewells, brutal knockouts, victorious Brazilians. Including one of them in the flyweight belt fight, with Alexandre Pantoja defeating Brandon Moreno.

And it wasn’t just that, with Alexander Volkanovski also scoring an important victory by defending and unifying his featherweight belt against interim belt owner Yair Rodríguez. The ENM portal details another Ultimate card at the T-Mobile Arena

the main battle

It was a well-rehearsed start to the main event at UFC 290, but Rodríguez soon went looking for plastic strikes and nearly landed a high kick at the champion. The duel was pretty even and Volkanovski managed to take advantage of a kick from the Mexican as he approached the fence to catch and get the takedown. The Australian remained in the lead and tried to adjust his position, without hitting the challenger too hard, but ensuring himself the space to score points. Rodríguez tried to get up but soon fell to the ground again and, in the final part of the round, the champion narrowly missed the katagatame.

Both fighters started round number 2 kicking, with the Mexican being the more prolific in this one. When Volkanovski landed a good punch, he scared the challenger, who responded in kind, Rodríguez was still knocked down by the champion, but even getting back up he was still under the control of the Australian, who started the ‘rain’ of elbows in the ground and hit before the rival gets up.

Volkanovski gave his rival no respite, even if in the final part of the group he managed to put himself in danger with his elbows under the star player. And the Australian continued to dictate the pace of the fight in the third round, defending well the initiatives of the ‘Pantera’, who managed to exploit a moment of less offensive strength of the opponent to put a nice right on the holder of the featherweight belt.

An accidental clash of heads interrupted the flow of the fight, which continued with the Mexican starting to look for combinations and launching an attack against the champion. But a right foot shook the Mexican, against the grid and at the mercy of Volkanovski’s shots, who didn’t sweat to seal the victory and consecrate himself master of the 66kg.

Alexandre Pantoja defeats Brandon Moreno to win the flyweight belt

The first UFC 290 title fight came in the co-main event, with the Brazil vs. Mexico bout involving Brandon Moreno defending his flyweight belt against Alexandre Pantoja. And the challenger started the fight at the top, but was soon pressed on the grid by the champion, who tried to take the crash, unsuccessfully.

The duel becomes more open when Pantoja tries a knee and Moreno responds with a good jab. Shortly after, the Brazilian knocked down, who went up and worked well on the ground with his elbows and forcing the Mexican to defend himself in his half guard. Standing again, the blows again set the pace of the fight, this time with some balance,

The exchange of blows remained open going into round two, with both fighters managing to dish out and hold up good punches. The champion managed to bring the fight back to the ground, slipping on the back of Pantoja, but without working the ground well. And, when the jab returned to dictate the pace of the fight, his jabs were powerful enough to score the Brazilian and score well with good combinations.

In the third round the fight again went to the ground and the Brazilian almost did not adjust to the submission, well defended by the Mexican. Moreno returned to the exchange and the two continued to engage well with their punches, leaving the fight wide open. In another moment of ground fighting, the holder of the flyweight belt obtained a homoplata, but the challenger’s good defense prevented the match.

Brandon Moreno’s jabs collided with Alexandre Pantoja’s bombs in the fourth round, and the Brazilian, even after taking an elbow and a body shot, knocked the champion down. Although the Mexican managed to escape, the challenger maintained control on the ground and did not leave ‘Assassin Baby’ alone, looking for opportunities to finish, which were very well defended by the holder of the belt.

In the fifth and decisive round, a more sensational start, not as overbearing as the other rounds of the fight. But that still made both of them have a thing for the knockout, since the fight was close. A takedown from the Brazilian gave him the lead and the ability to control the fight, even if from that position he didn’t effectively seek the submission. The fight was close and the judges saw Pantoja do enough to take the win and become the new flyweight champion.

Dricus du Plessis dominates Whittaker and secures the title

Looking for a chance to fight for the middleweight belt if they face Robert Whittaker and Dricus du Plessis. The fight started with the former 84kg champion connecting shots while Du Plessis remained shy in the attack but had a good first chance when he tried a guillotine choke on the New Zealander’s takedown attempt, which was the one who managed to connect his shots well.

In the late part of the first round, the South African started to grow and had good leg kicks before knocking Whittaker down and cutting him due to an elbow. Furthermore, du Plessis hit his rival well with his elbows and even risked the ‘D’Arce Choke’ on the former champion before halftime.

Packed to the brim, the South African boxer defended a high kick from ‘Bobby Knuckles’ early in round two and, soon enough, the jabs got more frank between the two. Balance reigned in the first moments, but as soon as the South African found the right moment to land his blows, a right jab shook the New Zealand fighter and knocked him out.

With the knockdown, du Plessis went for it and a series of strikes followed. Whittaker was just fending off the “hail” and was unable to fight back. With that, the rising middleweight earned his biggest win inside the octagon and a chance to duel for the belt against Israel Adesanya, who even entered the octagon to “sacrament” him as his future opponent.

Robbie Lawler is eliminated in retirement

Robbie Lawler entered the Octagon for his last fight of a victorious, war-filled career that earned him the UFC Welterweight belt and the idolatry of fans. And ‘Ruthless’ wrapped up the preliminary card for UFC 290 and his MMA career in style. A series of punches and an uppercut, all from the left, were enough to knock out Niko Price and close his story to the applause of those present at the T-Mobile Arena.

The Brazilians shine on the preliminary card

Brazil had two reps on the UFC 290 preliminary card. It only lasted 20 seconds for the fight between Denise Gomes and Yazmin Jauregui. The Brazilian sent a straight forehand which started a series of strikes which led to the knockdown. So, it was just a matter of waiting for the fight to stop and celebrating a great triumph for his career within the Ultimate, his second consecutive victory.

Vitor Petrino was the first Brazilian to enter the octagon at UFC 290, facing Pole Marcin Prachnio. In the first round, the Brazilian managed takedowns, knocking down his rival twice. Ground play was favored by the fighter known as ‘Cabuloso’, who had a great chance to win in the second round when he nearly landed an American on Prachnio. In the third round the Pole used plastic kicks well, but once again Petrino took the fight to the ground. When he was able to mount the katagatame, the submission took place.

UFC 290 Results – Volkanovski vs Rodriguez

main card

Alexander Volkanovski defeats Yair Rodriguez by TKO (4:19) – Volkanovski unifies very light belts

Alexandre Pantoja defeats Brandon Moreno by split decision – Pantoja is the new flyweight champion

Dricus du Plessis defeats Robert Whittaker by TKO (2:23 by R2)

Dan Hooker defeats Jalin Turner via split decision

Bo Nickal defeats Val Woodburn via TKO (0:38 by R1)

preliminary sheet

Robbie Lawler defeats Niko Price by KO (0:38 by R1)

Tatsuiro Taira defeats Edgar Cháirez by unanimous decision

Denise Gomes beats Yazmin Jauregui by KO (0:20 by R1)

Alonzo Menifield defeats Jimmy Crute via Submission (1:55 of R2)

Vitor Petrino defeated Marcin Prachnio via technical submission (3:42 by R2)

Cameron Saaiman defeats Terrence Mitchell by TKO (3:10 by R1)

Jesús Aguilar defeats Shannon Ross by KO (0:17 by R1)

Esteban Ribovics defeats Kamuela Kirk by unanimous decision

Source: Terra

Rose

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.