UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Conor McBragger
- 3 hours ago
- 6 min read
Introduction
UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez took place on Saturday, July 8, 2023 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as part of International Fight Week. It was a deep two-title card headlined by Alexander Volkanovski's fifth featherweight title defense, a flyweight title upset by Alexandre Pantoja, and a middleweight contender bout that launched Dricus du Plessis toward his eventual championship. The card produced an estimated 650,000 pay-per-view buys.
Alexander Volkanovski retained his featherweight title with a third-round TKO of Yair Rodriguez after dominating the first two rounds. The Mexican striker's unorthodox game found no openings against Volkanovski's volume and pressure. The win was Volkanovski's fifth consecutive featherweight title defense and his second title defense of 2023.
The co-main was one of the biggest upsets of the 2023 flyweight division: Alexandre Pantoja defeated Brandon Moreno via majority decision to win the UFC flyweight title. Pantoja, who had gone 1-1 against Moreno previously on The Ultimate Fighter, used sustained wrestling and ground-and-pound to earn two of the three judges' cards. Moreno's reign ended after his UFC 283 unification win over Deiveson Figueiredo.
The featured main-card bout produced the most significant middleweight contender result of the night. Dricus du Plessis defeated Robert Whittaker via split decision — a result that positioned the South African as the next middleweight title challenger and set up his UFC 293 title shot against Israel Adesanya.
Contents
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, July 8, 2023
📍 Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
👥 Attendance: 20,171 (full capacity)
💰 Gate: $8.1 million
📺 PPV Buys: ~650,000
📡 Broadcast: Pay-per-view (ESPN+ in USA)
🏆 Main Event: Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Yair Rodriguez — UFC Featherweight Championship (145 lbs)
✅ Result: Volkanovski def. Rodriguez via TKO (punches) — R3, 3:07
🥇 Co-Main: Alexandre Pantoja def. Brandon Moreno (c) via Majority Decision (47-47, 48-47, 48-47) — Flyweight Title
The Build-Up
Alexander Volkanovski entered UFC 290 as the consensus #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world after his close majority-decision loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 had actually elevated his pound-for-pound standing rather than diminished it. His return to featherweight for the fifth title defense against Yair Rodriguez was the card's headline.
Yair Rodriguez had won the interim featherweight title at UFC 284 by defeating Josh Emmett via unanimous decision. He was 15-3 in MMA, with an unorthodox striking style built on spinning elbows, flying knees, and 360-degree combinations that made him dangerous from unusual angles. The unification fight framed it as the division's wildcard versus its most dominant champion.
The co-main was Brandon Moreno defending the unified flyweight title against Alexandre Pantoja. Moreno had won the title from Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 283; Pantoja was making his first UFC flyweight title shot after a three-fight UFC win streak including wins over Matt Schnell, Manel Kape, and Alex Perez.
Main Event: Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez
Round one was Volkanovski's. He used his volume striking to control the distance, picked at Rodriguez's lead leg with kicks, and avoided the unorthodox combinations that made Rodriguez dangerous. Rodriguez landed two clean spinning elbows that grazed Volkanovski but did not hurt him. By the end of round one, Volkanovski had landed 44 significant strikes to Rodriguez's 28.
Round two was similar. Volkanovski's wrestling threatened Rodriguez's defensive positioning; the Mexican fighter could not create the space he needed for his wild combinations. The champion landed a takedown at 3:30 and controlled top position for the final 90 seconds. Round three ended it at 3:07 — Volkanovski landed a clean overhand right at 2:30 that wobbled Rodriguez, pressed against the cage, and finished with sustained combinations. Rodriguez could not defend; referee Herb Dean waved off the fight.
Alexander Volkanovski's fifth consecutive UFC featherweight title defense was complete. He would defend the title once more against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in February 2024 (KO R2 loss), ending his 1,800-day featherweight championship reign.
Co-Main Event: Moreno vs. Pantoja
The flyweight title upset of 2023. Alexandre Pantoja used sustained wrestling pressure and ground-and-pound to win two of the five judges' rounds clearly. Moreno's volume striking was competitive but Pantoja's grappling neutralised the champion's output in the championship rounds.
Final scorecards: 47-47, 48-47, 48-47 — a majority decision for Pantoja. The 47-47 draw card was disputed; most independent scorers had it as a close 48-47 split for either fighter. Alexandre Pantoja was the UFC flyweight champion — the first Brazilian-born UFC flyweight champion in promotion history.
Pantoja would defend the title against Brandon Royval at UFC 296 in December 2023 (TKO R5), against Steve Erceg at UFC 301 in May 2024 (majority decision), and against Kai Kara-France at UFC 311 in January 2025. He has remained the UFC flyweight champion into the mid-2020s.
Full Results
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Alexander Volkanovski (c) def. Yair Rodriguez — TKO (punches) — R3, 3:07 — Featherweight Title
Alexandre Pantoja def. Brandon Moreno (c) — Majority Decision (47-47, 48-47, 48-47) — Flyweight Title
Dricus du Plessis def. Robert Whittaker — Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) — Middleweight
Jan Blachowicz def. Aleksandar Rakic — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Light Heavyweight
Bo Nickal def. Val Woodburn — Submission (rear-naked choke) — R1, 2:37 — Middleweight
Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+)
Kevin Holland def. Jack Della Maddalena — Unanimous Decision (30-27 ×3) — Welterweight
Amanda Ribas def. Yazmin Jauregui — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Women's Strawweight
Chris Weidman def. Brad Tavares — Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) — Middleweight
Andrea Lee def. Maycee Barber — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Women's Flyweight
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Performance of the Night: Alexander Volkanovski — $50,000 for the third-round TKO of Yair Rodriguez.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Alexandre Pantoja — $50,000 for the majority-decision win over Brandon Moreno to win the flyweight title.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Bo Nickal — $50,000 for his second consecutive UFC first-round rear-naked choke submission finish (UFC 3-0).
Records & Milestones
• Volkanovski's fifth consecutive UFC Featherweight Championship defense — the most in divisional history.
• Alexandre Pantoja — first Brazilian-born UFC flyweight champion in promotion history.
• Dricus du Plessis's SD win over Robert Whittaker — the launching pad for his UFC middleweight title shot.
• Volkanovski's featherweight reign at UFC 290: 1,800+ days as champion, the longest in divisional history at the time.
Legacy & Impact
UFC 290 is remembered as one of the deepest International Fight Week cards of the modern era — two title fights, a decisive middleweight contender fight, and a flyweight title upset that launched the Alexandre Pantoja era. The Volkanovski TKO was clean but lacked the drama of his earlier defenses; the Pantoja-Moreno majority decision was the in-cage upset of the night.
For Volkanovski, UFC 290 was his fifth and penultimate successful featherweight title defense. He lost the title to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in February 2024 (KO R2), then lost to Topuria again at UFC 308 (KO R3). He also lost to Makhachev in the lightweight rematch at UFC 294 (KO R1). His post-UFC 290 record was 0-3.
For Alexandre Pantoja, the title was the start of one of the most dominant flyweight championship reigns of the modern era. He has defended successfully against Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg, and Kai Kara-France into 2025. For Dricus du Plessis, the SD win over Whittaker was the title shot that produced his UFC 293 middleweight championship win over Israel Adesanya.
FAQ
Why was Yair Rodriguez challenging for the title?
Rodriguez had won the interim featherweight title at UFC 284 by defeating Josh Emmett via unanimous decision. The interim title created the unification fight with Volkanovski at UFC 290. Rodriguez's unorthodox striking style had made him one of the most-feared featherweight strikers of the modern era; his spinning elbow KO of Chan Sung Jung in 2017 remains one of the most-replayed UFC strikes of the decade.
Did Pantoja and Moreno fight again?
Yes, at UFC 301 in May 2024 in Rio de Janeiro. Pantoja retained the title against Moreno via majority decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-47) in their third UFC meeting. Pantoja leads the all-UFC series 2-1. Their combined UFC series including the TUF bout stands at 2-1 Pantoja.
How does UFC 290 compare to UFC 289?
UFC 290 drew approximately 650,000 PPV buys versus UFC 289 (500,000) four weeks earlier — a 150,000-buy jump driven by International Fight Week and the two-title card. The depth of the undercard — du Plessis vs. Whittaker, Blachowicz vs. Rakic, Bo Nickal's second UFC finish — made it one of the strongest all-round PPV cards of the first half of 2023.
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