UFC 290 Results And Recap: Volkanovski retains featherweight title; Pantoja crowned new flyweight champion

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Las Vegas, July 9: The Ultimate Fighting Championship capped off International Fight Week 2023 with a remarkable card in UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez, which took place at the sold out T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday (July 9).

UFC 290 witnessed 9 of 13 fights ending in finish, and 4 of them under a minute as seven fights ended in either techincal knock out (TKO) or Knock out (KO) and two ended in submissions.

The Las Vegas crowd saw Alexander Volkanovski's featherweight title defense become the 2nd most in the division (six) in the main event, while Alexandre Pantoja claimed the flyweight title in a grueling rubber match with Brandon Moreno in the co-main event.

UFC 290 also saw Dricus Du Plessis assured himself of a middleweight title shot, while legendary Robbie Lawler end his career on a high note by KO; and Japan's phenom Tatsuro Taira remain undefeated with his 4th UFC win.

The co-main event fight between Moreno and Pantoja was awarded the Fight of the Night, while Du Plessis and Denise Gomes pocketed an extra USD50K as Performance of the Night bonuses for their respective stoppage wins on the undercard.

UFC 290 Recap

In the featherweight title unification main event, champion Volkanovski showed interim titleholder Rodriguez that there are indeed levels to the game in the 145-pound division.

Rodriguez came out with strong intentions, but Volkanovski's elite strategy and all-around skills kept him one step ahead into the fourth round where he overwhelmed and got the TKO.

After the win, Volkanovski said, "Everyone knows you've got to expect the unexpected in the sport. To be honest, in camp, there was fear of his striking. I prepared because I respect him. But this week I flipped the switch in my mind. I'm the champ, and no one's ever stopping me."

In the co-main event, the third meeting between two-time UFC flyweight champion Moreno and No. 2 ranked Pantoja produced brutal, high level performances from both.

Spectacular striking exchanges punctuated four rounds as the momentum swung back and forth over the full 25 minutes. On the scorecards, takedowns and damage persuaded two out of three judges to award the win to Pantoja.

Following the split decision win, Pantoja, who was joined by his family in the Octagon, said, "If you know my story, you're going to love me. Moreno evolved so much, I didn't expect him to be so tough tonight.

"I started training when I was 12, now I'm 33. I bet with everything in my life. I worked so hard for that. Now it's my moment. I want to enjoy everything."

Also on the main card, Du Plessis continued his undefeated march towards the top of the middleweight division by dispatching Robert Whittaker midway through the second round of the UFC 290 feature bout.

Plus, Dan Hooker edged Jalin Turner for a split decision in a lightweight bout before Bo Nickal showed off his boxing skills by stinging Val Woodburn with a right hook over the top, before dropping him after a pair of lefts, and dropping the hammer to seal the deal in the main card opener.

In the preliminary card, former UFC welterweight champion and new Hall Of Famer Lawler made his retirement fight one for the history books by knocking out Niko Price in just 38 seconds of the first round.

Also, Japan's 23-year old Taira weathered some hard shots from Edgar Chairez early in their 130-pound catchweight bout, but turned it around on the canvas with dominant positioning and ground and pound throughout all three rounds for the unanimous decision win.

UFC 290 Results

Main Card

1. Featherweight Championship Bout: Alexander Volkanovski defeated Yair Rodriguez by TKO (strikes) at 4:19 of Round 3

2. Flyweight Championship Bout: Alexandre Pantoja (48-47, 48-47) defeated Brandon Moreno (46-49) by split decision

3. Middleweight Title Eliminator Bout: Dricus Du Plessis defeated Robert Whittaker by TKO at 2:23 of Round 2

4. Lightweight Bout: Dan Hooker (29-28, 29-28) defeated Jalin Turner (29-28) by split decision

5. Middleweight Bout: Bo Nickal defeated Val Woodburn by KO (strikes) at 0:38 of Round 1

Preliminary Card

1. Welterweight Bout: Robbie Lawler defeated Niko Price by knockout (punches) at 0:38 of Round 1

2. Catchweight (130 lb) Bout: Tatsuro Taira defeated Edgar Chairez by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)

3. Women's Strawweight Bout: Denise Gomes defeated Yazmin Jauregui by TKO at 0:20 at Round 1

4. Light Heavyweight Bout: Alonzo Menifield defeated Jimmy Crute by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 1:55 of Round 2

Early Preliminary Card

1. Light Heavyweight Bout: Vitor Petrino defeated Marcin Prachnio by Submission, Head & Arm Choke, Round 3, 3:42

2. Bantamweight Bout: Cameron Saaiman defeated Terrence Mitchell by TKO at 3:10 of Round 1

3. Flyweight Bout: Jesus Aguilar defeated Shannon Ross by Knockout (right hand) at 0:17 of Round 1

4. Lightweight Bout: Esteban Ribovics defeated Kamuela Kirk by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)