UFC 290: Full Card, Latest Betting Odds & Event Information
After an exciting night at the Apex over the weekend, the MMA stars of today are sticking around in Sin City for UFC 290 on Saturday, July 8. The exciting pay-per-view event takes over T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada for what’ll surely be an entertaining night for combat sports enthusiasts everywhere.
With a card that includes two title fights, UFC fans won’t want to miss a second of the action. Fortunately, your friends at Betting News have everything you need to know ahead of UFC 290, ranging from each fight’s background to the latest betting odds, courtesy of BetOnline.
UFC 290 Event Details
When is UFC 290?
UFC 290 will take place on Saturday, July 8, 2023.
Where is UFC 290?
UFC 290 will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
What time does UFC 290 start?
- UFC 290 Early Prelims Start Time: 6 p.m. ET
- UFC 290 Preliminary Card Start Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Start Time of UFC 290’s Main Card: 10 p.m. ET
How can I watch UFC 290?
Fans wanting to check out the early prelims can do so exclusively with the UFC Fight Pass. The UFC 290 preliminary action can then be viewed on both ESPN and ABC while the main card is available on ESPN+ and pay-per-view providers across North America.
UFC 290 Main Card and Odds (Odds via BetOnline as of Monday, July 3)
UFC 290 Main Event: Yair Rodriguez (+300) vs. Alexander Volkanovski (-375)
The main event of the weekend is a massive one as Yair Rodriguez (15-3, 1NC) and Alexander Volkanovski (25-2) go head-to-head to crown a unified UFC Featherweight Champion.
After dominating the featherweight division, Volkanovski moved up a weight class to fight Islam Makhachev for the lightweight championship at UFC 284. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful, losing by unanimous decision.
Nevertheless, Volkanovski’s change in weight class meant that the promotion needed to crown an interim champion in the meantime. Rodriguez rose to the occasion without issue, defeating Josh Emmett by second-round submission to capture the interim gold at UFC 284.
The UFC 290 main event marks both men’s first fight since their latest outings. It’ll be interesting to see if Volkanovski returns to his dominant form that saw him 22 consecutive victories before his loss to Makhachev. “The Great” also has four successful defenses as featherweight champion, beating names like Brian Ortega, Max Holloway, and Jung Chan-sung.
Oddsmakers also imply that this fight is heavily in Volkanovski’s favor, leaving time to tell if Rodriguez can pull off the upset to notch the biggest win in his career.
UFC 290 Co-Main Event: Brandon Moreno (-210) vs. Alexandre Pantoja (+180)
The second title matchup at UFC 290 sees Brandon Moreno (21-6-2) put the UFC Flyweight Championship on the line against the red-hot Alexandre Pantoja (25-5).
Moreno’s first flyweight championship reign came to a halt at UFC 270, losing to Deiveson Figueiredo by unanimous decision. The 29-year-old didn’t let the loss keep him down, winning the interim flyweight gold with a first-round knockout win over Kai Kara-France before defeating Figueiredo (by TKO) in a unification bout six months later.
Meanwhile, Pantoja is 9-3 in the UFC since his arrival in 2017. He heads to Sin City on a three-fight winning streak, having submitted Brandon Royval and Alex Perez in his latest two fights. Even more impressive is that Pantojja earned ‘performance of the night’ recognition for both of those victories.
Middleweight: Robert Whittaker (-410) vs. Dricus du Plessis (+310)
Two of the UFC’s top middleweight are set to collide as Robert Whittaker (24-6) takes on Dricus du Plessis (19-2).
After a failed bid to defeat Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title at UFC 271, Whittaker bounced back by defeating Marvin Vettori by unanimous decision seven months later. A former interim UFC Middleweight Champion and currently the division’s No. 2 fighter, a victory would bring Whittaker one step closer to glory.
Du Plessis, on the other hand, is white hot entering this showdown. The South African competitor has only lost twice in 21 previous fights and has won his last seven outings in a row. He’s also finished off four of his first five UFC opponents, winning three times by KO/TKO and once by submission.
Lightweight: Jalin Turner (+206) vs. Dan Hooker (-241)
Jalin Turner (13-6) and Dan Hooker (22-12) both hope to rise up the lightweight rankings with a victory at UFC 290.
Turner was on top of the world from February 2020 to July 2022, winning five consecutive fights via KO/TKO or submission during that stretch. Unfortunately, his momentum came to a screeching stop when he lost to Mateusz Gamrot by split decision at UFC 285.
Meanwhile, Hooker looked like his best days were behind him when he went on a 1-5 run over a two-year stretch. He found a way to silence the doubters, though, knocking Claudio Puelles with a stiff body kick back in November. It remains to be seen if the victory was a fluke or the start of more positive results to come.
Middleweight: Bo Nickal (-1400) vs. Tresean Gore (+800)
Bo Nickal (4-0) is the major favorite in his middleweight contest with Tresean Gore (4-2) this weekend.
Nickal — a three-time NCAA Division I National Champion in wrestling — has plowed through the competition in his young MMA career. He defeated each of his first four opponents in the opening round, most recently submitting Jamie Pickett at UFC 285 with a triangle choke.
In other words, Gore has his work cut out for him. The 29-year-old veteran has been shaky in the UFC thus far, losing back-to-back fights to begin his run before submitting Josh Fremd back in October.
UFC 290 Preliminary Card Odds
Welterweight: Robbie Lawler (+220) vs. Niko Price (-260)
One of two welterweight preliminary card fights sees Robbie Lawler (29-16, 1NC) going one-on-one with Niko Price (15-6, 2NC).
After losing the UFC Welterweight title in 2016, Lawler has been trending in the wrong direction, going an abysmal 1-5 in his last six fights. He looks to turn things around against Price, who’s coming off a third-round lockout loss to Philip Rowe back in December. The 33-year-old has never lost consecutive fights before, leaving time to tell if that trend changes.
Welterweight: Jack Della Maddalena (-850) vs. Josiah Harrell (+600)
The second welterweight fight of the UFC 290 preliminary card features rising star Jack Della Maddalena (14-2) duking it out with the debuting Josiah Harrell (7-0).
Della Maddalena is now a perfect 5-0 in the UFC, most recently submitting Randy Brown at UFC 284 to earn ‘performance of the night’ honors for the third straight fight. Meanwhile, Harrell is set to make his promotional debut after finishing his first seven MMA opponents (four by knockout, three by submission).
Women’s Strawweight: Yazmin Jauregui (-400) vs. Denise Gomes (+300)
Yazmin Jauregui (10-0) is the massive favorite in her women’s strawweight fight with Denis Gomes (7-2) this weekend.
Jauregui isn’t showing any signs of slowing down her undefeated ways, scoring wins over Iasmin Lucindo and Istela Nunes — by points and TKO, respectively — to begin her UFC run. Standing in her way of an 11th straight victory is Gomes, who’s coming off an impressive TKO victory over Bruna Brasil at UFC on ESPN 44.
Light Heavyweight: Jimmy Crute (-120) vs. Alonzo Menifield (+100)
In a UFC 290 preliminary fight that could go either way, Jimmy Crute (12-3-1) and Alonzo Menifield (13-3-1) collide for the second time in as many fights.
The light heavyweight duo previously met at UFC 284, fighting to a majority draw after three rounds. With Crute being the No. 14-ranked light heavyweight and Menifield currently unranked, it’s clear how important a victory is for both fighters this Saturday night.
UFC 290 Early Prelims Card Odds
Catchweight (130 lbs): Tatsuro Taira (-900) vs. Edgar Chairez (+600)
Tatsuro Taira (13-0) was supposed to compete at UFC Vegas 76, but his fight was canceled after Kleydson Rodrigues failed to make weight. Instead, the Japanese prodigy takes on Edgar Chairez (10-4), who’s previously fought on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Taira has remained undefeated through his first three UFC bouts, winning twice by submission and once by unanimous decision. At the same time, Chairez hopes to impress after back-to-back submission victories over Roberto Guerrero and Gianni Di Chiara Vazquez.
Light Heavyweight: Vitor Petrino (-285) vs. Marcin Prachnio (+245)
The undefeated Vitor Petrino (8-0) is the clear favorite in his light heavyweight battle with Marcin Prachnio (16-6) at UFC 290.
After knocking out six of his first seven opponents, Petrino heads into the weekend following a unanimous decision win over Anton Turkalj back in March. Continuing that streak won’t be easy, though. After all, Prachnio improved to 3-1 in his last four fights after overcoming William Knight by points at UFC Vegas 69.
Bantamweight: Cameron Saaiman (-500) vs. Terrence Mitchell (+375)
Terrence Mitchell (14-2) aims to be the first man to defeat Cameron Saaiman (8-0) when they meet under the bright Sin City lights.
Mitchell brings an 11-fight winning streak into his UFC debut, having finished each one of those foes within the first two rounds. Nevertheless, victory won’t come easy against Saaiman, who’s won back-to-back UFC PPV fights in dominant fashion, knocking out Steven Koslow before defeating Leomana Martinez by majority decision three months later.
Flyweight: Shannon Ross (+130) vs. Jesus Santos Aguilar (-150)
Another interesting UFC 290 early prelims scrap is the flyweight showdown between Shannon Ross (12-7) and Jesus Santos Aguilar (8-2).
Ross desperately needs a statement performance after opening his UFC tenure with two straight knockout losses. Fortunately for the underdog, Aguilar also lost his most recent fight, submitting to Taira in just four minutes and 20 seconds at UFC Fight Night 218.
Lightweight: Kamuela Kirk (+122) vs. Esteban Ribovics (-142)
Lastly, the early action also features Kamuela Kirk (12-5) and Esteban Ribovics (11-1) engaging in a lightweight matchup.
Kirk’s three-fight winning streak came to an end at UFC Fight Night 203 as the Arizonan talent found himself submitting to Damon Jackson. Meanwhile, Ribovics is in unfamiliar territory after suffering his first-ever loss at the hands of Loik Radzhabov (by unanimous decision) at UFC 285.
