And new! Featherweight title gets Mexican makeover for Yair Rodriguez fight at UFC 290 (Video)

UFC interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez will look to upset the 145-pound apple cart when he collides with reigning division kingpin and pound-for-pound phenom Alex Volkanovski in the upcoming UFC 290 pay-per-view (PPV) main event, locked and loaded for this Sat. night (July 8, 2023) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

And he’s bringing a little Mexican flair to the “Sin City” headliner.

Not too shabby.

Rodriguez (15-3, 1 NC) captured the substitute strap on the same UFC 284 fight card that featured Volkanovski (unsuccessfully) challenging Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title. “El Pantera” disposed of veteran slugger Josh Emmett with a second-round triangle choke submission to capture his second straight victory.

LIVE! Watch UFC 293 PPV On ESPN+ Here!

MASSIVE MIDDLEWEIGHT MATCH! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) makes its highly anticipated return to Sydney, Australia, for the first time in five years on Sat., Sept. 9, 2023, with a 185-pound world title fight inside Qudos Bank Arena. In the ESPN+-streamed pay-per-view (PPV) main event, Middleweight roost-ruler, Israel Adesanya, plans to silence No. 5-seeded contender, Sean Strickland. In UFC 293’s hard-hitting Heavyweight co-main event, No-6-ranked fan favorite, Tai Tuivasa, locks horns with towering Russian, Alexander Volkov (No. 8).

Don’t miss a single second of EPIC face-punching action!

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“Personally, I think this is probably going to be Volk’s biggest test,” the Aussie’s head coach, Eugene Bareman, said in a recent interview with FTS MMA (via MMA Junkie). “Obviously, you’ve got the length to deal with, but you’ve got just a unique approach to striking, just the way Yair breaks the rhythm and the way he does things a little bit unconventional.”

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 290 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ESPN/ESPN+/ABC at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 290: “Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.