UFC 290: Volkanovski vs Rodriguez Predictions, Best Bets, Odds

Alexander Volkanovski vs Yair Rodriguez - Featherweight Championship

One of the most dominant champions in UFC history, Alexander Volkanovski has defended his title four times since winning it in 2019. He has defended against the Korean Zombie, Brian Ortega, and Max Holloway, the man he won the title from, on two separate occasions.

So why the need for an interim champion? Well, Volkanovski moved up in weight to try and claim status as a double-champ when he took on lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 in February. To learn more about weight classes, read our guide to women's & men's UFC weight classes.  

Volkanovski lost the bout but there are those who would lean the other way - thinking Volkanovski did enough to win what was a very close fight in the end.

On that same UFC 284 card, Yair Rodriguez defeated Josh Emmett via second-round decision - earning him the interim title and the next shot at Volkanovski’s undisputed belt when he returned.

Rodriguez has won his last two in a row and is 4-1 in his last five fights. Despite his five-inch height advantage, Rodriguez will have an equal 71-inch reach to his opponent.

Not surprisingly, current champ, number-two pound-for-pound ranked and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Volkanovski is listed as a whopping -410 favorite. But he will have to watch out for the taekwondo black belt striking skills that Rodriguez possesses.

Brandon Moreno vs Alexandre Pantoja - Flyweight Championship

Flyweight champion and BJJ black belt Brandon Moreno is looking for his first official title defense after finally putting the Deiveson Figueiredo saga behind him.

The “Baby Assassin” fought Figueiredo three times in a row - the first a draw, the second being a title win, and the third being a title loss.

Moreno then defeated Kai Kara-France for the interim flyweight title before finally defeating Figueiredo once and for all for the undisputed flyweight title at UFC 283 in January.

He defends his title against number-two ranked flyweight Alexandre Pantoja, a fighter who defeated Moreno once before in 2018. Pantoja is currently on a three-fight winning streak, having most recently defeated Alex Perez by first-round submission at UFC 277 last July. 

Moreno will have a two-inch advantage in both height and reach and has been the more active fighter in recent years. He is considered a -180 favorite to win and retain the flyweight championship.

Robert Whittaker vs Dricus du Plessis - Middleweight Division

Former middleweight champion and currently ranked as the number-two contender in the division, Robert Whittaker hopes that a win over Dricus du Plessis this weekend will lead to another title shot against his apparent kryptonite: Israel Adesanya.

Whittaker lost his title to Adesanya in 2019 and, after three straight wins, lost once again to Adesanya at UFC 271. He most recently defeated Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision last September.

Dricus du Plessis, a black belt in kickboxing, has risen quickly in the middleweight rankings and moved up to number-five following his most recent win over Derek Brunson at UFC 285.

That recent win was du Plessis’ seventh in a row.

The former champion will stand one-inch shorter and will find himself at a three-inch disadvantage in the reach department. However, his skill and experience have led the oddsmakers to list Whittaker as their -410 favorite.

Jalin Turner vs Dan Hooker - Lightweight Division

Two of the tallest and longest lightweights in the division go head-to-head this Saturday without the usual physical advantages they are both used to having.

Rising contender Jalin Turner recently had a five-fight winning streak snapped by the hands of Mateusz Gamrot, who defeated Turner by a narrow split-decision at UFC 285 in March.

Dan Hooker has had mixed success lately, going just 2-4 over his last six fights. After suffering back-to-back losses, Hooker most recently earned a second-round TKO win over Claudio Puelles at UFC 281 last November.

Turner, a -250 favorite in this match up, will stand three-inches taller than Hooker and will have a 1.5-inch reach advantage.

Bo Nickal vs Tresean Gore - Middleweight Division

A favorite to win TUF season 29 after qualifying for the finals, middleweight Tresean Gore was forced to pull out of the show’s finale due to a knee injury, leaving the path open for Bryan Battle to win the show’s tournament.

Gore eventually fought Battle in the UFC but lost via decision. Gore lost his next UFC bout via TKO at the hands of Cody Brundage before earning his first promotional win in his most recent contest, earning a second-round submission win over Josh Fremd.

This Saturday, Gore will kick off the main card of UFC 290 against Bo Nickal - a U.S.A. national wrestling champion and undefeated mixed martial artist who boasts NCAA division one wrestling credentials.

Nickal earned two first-round submission wins on the Contender Series before making his UFC debut, where he submitted Jamie Pickett in the first-round of their UFC 285 bout in March.

These two men are almost identical in height, reach, and record, but the wrestling phenom Bo Nickal is listed as a massive -1300 favorite - the largest betting favorite on a card that has several huge favorites.