Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez UFC 290 Odds, Time, and Prediction

After an unsuccessful venture in the lightweight division, Alexander Volkanovski (25-2) is coming back to the 145lbs weight class to defend his UFC Featherweight title for the fourth time. This time, it’s against Yair Rodriguez (15-3-1) who became the interim champion after beating Josh Emmett in February.

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez Odds

*Odds taken from Bovada on Friday, June 30, 2023.

When, Where, and How to Watch?

• Place: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
• Date: Saturday, July 8, 2023
• Time: 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)
• How to Watch: UFC Fight Pass

Alexander Volkanovski Wants to Prove He’s Still the Best Featherweight

Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski is currently second in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings, just behind heavyweight fighter Jon Jones and above the lightweight champ Islam Makhachev to whom he lost in his most recent fight.

It was a UFC Lightweight Championship fight, which the Dagestani fighter won by a somewhat controversial decision. The judges scored in Makhachev’s favor, but many UFC pundits revealed they had Volk as the winner.

Nevertheless, the Australian fighter failed to become a double champ, suffering only his second-ever fight. The first one happened back in 2013 when he was only starting his MMA career. In fact, it was only his fourth bout since switching from rugby to mixed martial arts two years earlier.

When it comes to his wins, Volk is an absolute legend of the UFC Featherweight division, with a 100% record in this weight class. His most recent win happened almost exactly one year ago when we saw him defend his championship belt against Max Holloway. It was his third win over “Blessed,” who’s one of only three fighters who have defeated Yair Rodriguez so far. Will Volk become the fourth?

Yair Rodriguez Plotting an Upset

Yair Rodriguez is one of the most unconventional fighters in the UFC. He’s fun to watch, with all sorts of flashy moves designed to surprise the opponent. Just think of the time he KO-ed The Korean Zombie in the very last second of the fight.

The win in question won him the Performance of the Night bonus, which he also won on another three occasions, most recently in the Josh Emmett interim title fight in February. In addition to four Performance of the Night bonuses, “El Pantera” has also won five Fight of the Night bonuses.

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez Prediction

Yair Rodriguez is taller than Volk and has a longer reach, but his main advantage is his unpredictable fighting style. He’s got the x-factor in the octagon, which makes him very hard to prepare for. But if there’s a fighter who takes preparation incredibly seriously, it’s Volk.

The Aussie is famously very diligent when it comes to preparing for the fight, while he also has a very high IQ. What this means is that whatever Rodriguez throws at him, he should be able to handle it.

Although we do believe that Volkanovski has the skillset needed to outbox the interim champ, our prediction is that he’ll try to take the fight to the ground. The reigning UFC Featherweight champ is an incredible wrestler, who can take down literally any opponent, let alone Rodriguez who suffered eight takedowns in his last four fights.

Pick: Alexander Volkanovski to win