The UFC returned to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas tonight for another wildly exciting night of fights headlined by two championship bouts. With a stacked card from start to finish, this was one of the most memorable pay-per-view events in some time.
Let’s take a look at some of the highlights of the night and break down the three fights we looked at in our UFC 290 preview.
Prelim Highlights
There was a whole lot of hype around the undefeated Yazmin Jauregui for her bout against Denise Gomes, who came in as a +295 underdog. Well, Gomes wasted no time letting the odds makers know they were wrong as she landed a huge right hand almost immediately and planted her opponent. After a few more big shots, Gomes scored a huge knockout win in just 20 seconds. Derailing the hype train of an undefeated opponent is a huge feather in Gomes’ cap and she could be looking at a big opportunity her next time out.
It was a very different story for next big favorite as Tatsuro Taira put on a grappling clinic against Edgar Chairez. The standup certainly favored Chairez in the early going as he dropped Taira in the first round. After getting the top position, Chairez looked for a guillotine and that’s when things turned around. Taira displayed his superior grappling skills, getting himself to an advantageous position and dominating the remainder of the round. In the second, Chairez made the mistake of looking for a guillotine choke again Taira immediately got back to a dominant position for more of the same. Chairez was able to make things interesting in the third round, once again landing some big shots on the feet, but Taira was able to make it to the final bell to earn a decision victory and remain undefeated.
The final prelim of the night featured a Hall of Fame inductee in his last professional fight as former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler stepped into the octagon one last time to take on Niko Price. As Daniel Cormier said repeatedly on commentary, there are no fairytales in fighting, but Robbie Lawler got as close to it as you possibly can. At 41-years-old, Lawler showed that he is still as talented and as dangerous as ever, taking just 38 seconds to knock out Price. It was a spectacular performance and an ever better moment for a guy who has given his life to this sport and the fans for so long.
Main Card Highlights
Bo Nickal was close to being the biggest betting favorite in UFC history in an opening bout against Val Woodburn, closing as a -2100. Woodburn, who was a late replacement, came out swinging against the dominant wrestler, looking for an early knockout. While Woodburn was the one throwing heat early, it was Nickal who landed a short right hand that really rocked his opponent. A few shots later and it was another quick finish for the still undefeated Nickal. This guy just continues to impress every time out and he is likely in line for a very big opportunity the next time he steps into the octagon.
It was a different story when Jalin Turner met Dan Hooker in a lightweight bout that went the distance and yet was no less exciting. In fact, this may have been a fighter of the year candidate at these two guys traded big shots and wild exchanges for three rounds. One of the most shocking moments of the fight came when Turner landed a huge head kick in the middle of the second round and Hooker never even flinched. Turner poured it on with more big shots and Hooker looked like he could have gone out at any second but somehow he managed to turn the tides and ended the round with Turner in trouble instead. Hooker kept the momentum going in the third but Turner hung around and kept the fight very close up until the final bell. The judges gave a split decision victory to Hooker in the end, but both of these guys raised their stock in this one.
Dricus Du Plessis def. Robert Whittaker
Coming off of one of the best fights in some time, these two middleweights were sure to keep the energy up for everyone. Both guys came out firing but remained technical and composed in the early going. Whittaker appeared to be getting the better of the exchanges early but it was Du Plessis who ended the first round on top and inflicting some damage, including a big elbow that cut his opponent. Early in the second, Du Plessis landed another big shot that rocked Whittaker and sent him staggering back. Du Plessis immediately went hunting but, having learned from his previous mistakes, he didn’t rush in throwing wild strikes. Instead, he stayed calm and picked his shots, landing a big body shot before going back to the head to finish the former middleweight champ in emphatic fashion. It was an incredible showing from the middleweight contender and that was just the beginning of the spectacle as middleweight champion Israel Adesanya stepped into the octagon to meet him. The two got in each other’s faces and shouted some trash talk before being broken up. It looks like we’ve got ourselves a very exciting title fight coming very soon.
My pick: Whittaker via 3rd round knockout
Result: Du Plessis via 2nd round knockout
Brandon Moreno def. Alexandre Pantoja
After the last few fights, there was no way this co-main event could possibly be as exciting, right? Well, no one told Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja that because these guys put on a show. The challenger dropped the champ in the first round with a big left hand and that felt like the moment everyone realized Moreno could lose this fight and suddenly we had a fight. Moreno controlled the second round and seemingly evened things up on the scorecards and then the two had a back and forth battle the rest of the way. It became evident Moreno had the advantage in the striking while Pantoja found much more success in the grappling and that became their respective gameplans. With that being the case, we had a whole bunch of takedowns, reversals and wild scrambles that took us to the final bell. It was an incredibly close fight but in the end the judges handed a split decision victory to Pantoja and crowned him the new flyweight champion of the world. It was yet another incredibly entertaining fight and I would expect to see these two guys run it back in the near future.
My pick: Moreno via decision
Result: Pantoja via decision
Alexander Volkanovski def. Yair Rodriguez
After everything up to this point, it would have been easy to forget we still got to watch one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world. The featherweight champ and the interim champ met in this main event to decide who would take home the real title. It was clear what both fighters wanted to do. The much taller Rodriguez wanted to stay at range and work his explosive and creative strikes. The more powerful Volkanovski wanted to get inside and control the interim champ and beat him up. Right from the beginning, it was the champ who was able to put his plan to work. Volk scored takedown after takedown and controlled Rodriguez on the ground pretty muh for the duration of the first two rounds. In the third, he seemed a bit more willing to stand with Rodriguez and both guys found some success. Eventually though, it was the champ who got the better of an exchange and rocked his opponent. He quickly swarmed, socred another huge takedown and put Rodriguez away to retain his championship.
After the fight, the dominant featherweight king let everyone know he does still have his eye on the lightweight crown but also specifically mentioned featherweight contender Ilia Topuria. Either way, fight fans are certain to be looking forward to the next time they get to watch Alexander Volkanovksi in the octagon.
My pick: Volkanovski via decision
Result: Volkanovski via 3rd round knockout
The UFC will return to ESPN+ on Saturday, July 15th for UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Bueno Silva. Be sure to check back for a preview of the event.