UFC fans, brace yourselves: one of the best evenings of mixed martial arts action is coming your way this Saturday night. Live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, UFC 290 will see two red-hot featherweights go toe-to-toe for the UFC Featherweight Championship. With Alexander Volkanovski largely touted as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and Jair Rodriguez a huge wildcard that could dethrone the king, read on for all our top Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez tips.
Both combatants this weekend are not very familiar with defeat. For Volkanovski, he tasted it in the UFC for the first time the last time he fought, albeit in a higher weight class, where he pushed the current champion to the limits. For Rodriguez, he went down 18 months ago in a tight decision to Max Holloway, which he has bounced back from strong with two finishes in a row.
Who will be served up a main course of defeat in this UFC 290 main event on Saturday night? Will it be the champion, Alexander Volkanovski, or the challenger and interim champion, Jair Rodriguez? We answer this question and more by breaking down the Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez odds and outlining the best UFC 290 betting tips.
| ℹ️ Event: | UFC 287 Main Event, for Vacant Featherweight Championship |
| 🏟️ Venue: | T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| 🗓️ Date: | Saturday July 8th, 2023 |
| ⏰ Time: | From 6:00 PM EST |
These two fighters have never met in a professional mixed martial arts fight. However, they have fought several of the same opponents previously. Both men have defeated Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung, while Volkanovski owns triple victories over Max Holloway – more than Rodriguez can say, having lost to the American in 2021.
Before diving into our UFC 290 Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez predictions, let’s take a look at the bookies’ odds ahead of this clash. Here are the latest Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez odds:
Those looking to do a little MMA online betting will see that Alexander Volkanovski is the clear favorite heading into this bout. Outright betting odds have the Australian at 1.22 (2/9), well ahead of Jair Rodriguez’s odds of 4.20 (16/5) to win on Saturday night.
Method of victory odds favor Volkanovski on points at 2.00 (1/1), while a knockout to the champion pays 3.25 (9/4), followed by a Rodriguez knockout at 7.00 (6/1).
Until earlier this year, Alexander Volkanovski was undefeated across 12 fights in the UFC. That all changed in February, however, when the Australian went up a weight grade and fought Islam Makhachev for the UFC Lightweight Championship. Volkanovski lost a tight decision but gave an impressive account of himself in a fight that won’t go down as a defeat in many fans’ eyes.
Volkanovski is widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Accordingly, he holds an advantage over Rodriguez in a plethora of areas. The 34-year-old will be nigh on impossible to takedown and submit; he’s also got a seemingly endless gas tank and sticks to well-thought-out fight plans that are always intelligently designed for each opponent.
Since rocketing into the UFC in 2014, Yair Rodriguez’s climb through the UFC rankings has been a stilted journey. The 30-year-old holds a 10-2 record in this promotion, with his latest loss coming to Max Holloway in 2021. Since then, he’s finished Brian Ortega and Josh Emmett in convincing performances, claiming the interim featherweight title with his win over the latter in February this year.
While Volkanovski is a meticulous, organized fighter, Rodriguez is more of a wildcard. He’s known for his willingness to throw low-percentage shots, meaning that a knockout is always on the cards when Rodriguez is in the ring. Throw in his significant height advantage and longer reach with the leg kicks, and Rodriguez’s approach will likely pivot strongly around landing his kicks to hurt Volkanovski.
Enough preamble, let’s cut to the chase. We’ve broken down all the Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez odds and come up with three Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez tips right out of the top draw. Whether you’re a conservative punter or love your high UFC odds, there will be something for you in this Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez betting preview:
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Simply put, Volkanovski has multiple paths to victory here, while Rodriguez only has a few. The conservative bet is to back Volkanovski for the win, regardless of the stingy payout that the bookies are offering for this line of betting.
Based on what we know of Alexander Volkanovski, the featherweight will come out with a clear plan to defeat Yair Rodriguez. He’ll likely get in tight and do damage while also not being afraid to take the Mexican on in the grapple. Rodriguez needs to be attentive to all the threats, but missing a few punches from the side of an experienced fighter look like a pretty logical way to finish the fight.
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If Rodriguez was to get lucky, it would be through a knockout blow, most likely. This is entirely a possibility, given Rodriguez’s propensity to go for low-percentage shots from all positions in a fight. That’s what makes this a great bet for those chasing a higher return. Regardless of how excellent Volkanovski is and how well he sets up the fight in his favor, Rodriguez can turn things around in the blink of an eye with one of his crazy knockouts. Do you remember how Edwards delivered the sniper shot against Usman in UFC 278?
The thing is, this will be a low-percentage bet. The only question is, do you think the percentage outweighs the return? We say it’s worth a punt, but our next bet is an even better one.
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This is our pick of the best to make this weekend. Volkanovski has plenty of tools to end a fight early, something he’s done numerous times before in the UFC. This is heightened by the fact that Rodriguez has a habit of taking risks and getting himself in bad positions. Combine this with Rodriguez’s likely path to victory being a knockout, and betting on this fight not to go the distance is the smart bet that covers both options on Saturday night.
Two fiery featherweights will step into the ring this weekend to contest the UFC Featherweight Championship, while only one will step out victorious. We’ve given our Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez UFC 290 prediction and say that while the Australian is most likely to retain his crown, the best bet is to wager on this fight ending early.
