The reigning UFC Featherweight Champion, Alexander Volkanovski, confirmed his title as one of the strongest fighters in the world with an early victory over interim title holder Yair Rodriguez.
The Australian confidently took the first two rounds due to the advantage in wrestling technique and control on the ground, and in the third five-minute period he shook the Mexican with a counter side kick from the right, after which he once again moved the opponent and carried out a powerful finishing move.
The unification bout that headlined the UFC 290 tournament in Las Vegas was preceded by a head-butt episode in which Volkanovski, closing the distance, drove into the opponent’s jaw, and Rodriguez, who had looked good in the third round until that moment, was forced to take a pause for recovery.
In a post-match interview, Alexander Volkanovski said that he had not yet decided on his next step, not ruling out both a rematch with Islam Makhachev in the lightweight category and a defense of the featherweight title against Ilia Topuria.
In the co-main event of the event, the Brazilian Alexandre Pantozha took away the UFC flyweight championship belt from Brandon Moreno, defeating the Mexican by a split decision in five rounds with a score of 48-47 twice and 46-49. Spectators in the arena greeted the judge’s verdict with a dissatisfied rumble, considering it unfair.
Pantozha has previously defeated Moreno twice, finishing with a rear naked choke on The Ultimate Fighter in 2016 and winning by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 129 in Chile in 2018.
In the third-biggest event of the tournament, South African middleweight Drikus Du Plessis did a great service to reigning division champion Israel Adesanya by sensationally cracking down on Robert Whittaker in a Candidates match and saving the Nigerian from a third bout with the Australian.
The unexpected denouement came in the second round when Du Plessy rocked Whittaker with a right hand and then finished off the former UFC champion near the net, forcing referee Mark Goddard to stop the fight at 2:23.
In an interview after the fight, Du Plessis paid tribute to his opponent, admitting that he always looked up to Whittaker as an idol, and also had a battle of views with Adesanya, who entered the cage, who immediately began to promote the upcoming fight.
Among other results, we note the successful performance of New Zealand lightweight Dan Hooker, who won a split decision over American Jalyn Turner, as well as the victory of former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler, who knocked out Niko Price in the 38th second of the fight and officially announced the end of professional careers.
Early victories were won by Bo Nickal, Denise Gomez, Alonzo Menifield, Vitor Petrino, Cameron Saimán and Jesus Santos Aguilar.
All UFC 290 results.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/32034-rezultaty-turnira-ufc-290-volkanovski-pantozha-i-dyu-plessi-oderzhali-pobedy.html?rand=19907
