UFC 290 was one of the promotion's best events of 2023. Not only did it feature an incredible four knockouts in 38 seconds or less, but it boasted three huge fights, two of them for championships.
Rodriguez had a winning streak of just two at featherweight despite being the interim titlist. He had narrowly lost a five-round verdict against former champion Max Holloway in late 2021, but had come back strong, triumphing over a Brian Ortega who was injured late in Round 1, and then brutalizing Josh Emmett with kicks and punches before submitting him late in Round 2 to win the interim crown.
Rodriguez landed a few powerful strikes on the feet, but he was overwhelmed by Volkanovski, who repeatedly took him down and shellacked him with punches and elbows. In the third round, Volkanovski scored with a gorgeous right-hand counter to a kick that badly hurt the Mexican challenger, eventually finishing him with strikes on the ground. Yet again, the champion proves he is the class of the UFC featherweight division.
In the co-main, flyweight champion Brandon Moreno sought to defeat nemesis Alexandre Patonja on a third attempt. Moreno triumphed in his legendary quadrilogy against Deiveson Figueiredo, winning by TKO after the third round in January of this year to become the UFC flyweight king for a second time. Eager to finally face a different foe, he chose a hard challenger in Alexandre Pantoja, who holds two victories over a young Moreno. He had tapped Moreno with a rear-naked choke on “The Ultimate Fighter” back in 2016 and had then won a judges' verdict in 2018 on a Fight Night card. Pantoja had experienced less success than Moreno outside of that fight, having been utterly dominated by Figueiredo back in 2019 and then losing to Askar Askarov in 2020, who the UFC bizarrely let leave the promotion. However, Pantoja was riding a three-fight winning streak heading into the title showdown, having easily outpointed Rizin champion Manel Kape before scoring back-to-back submissions of top contenders in Brandon Royval and Alex Perez. He certainly hoped to have Moreno's number.
What transpired was a true martial arts classic, with both men going back and forth for 25 straight minutes, attacking each other in every area of battle; striking, the clinch, wrestling and the ground. In the end, it was unclear who had done enough, but Alexandre Pantoja triumphed with a split decision verdict, becoming the new flyweight king at the age of 33.
Lastly, Dricus Du Plessis and Robert Whittaker squared off in what was essentially a UFC No. 1 contender match at middleweight. Whittaker was the former champion and had looked spectacular since losing his title to Israel Adesanya in late 2019, going 4-1 with victories over top contenders in Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, Kelvin Gastelum and Marvin Vettori, and only losing a rematch against Adesanya that many scored for the Australian. Du Plessis was a perfect 5-0 in the UFC but many questioned his gas tank, speed and overall ability, with him frequently losing fights before pulling out a comeback victory. This was reflected in Whittaker being a huge favorite. However, du Plessis proved the doubters wrong in a huge way, not only beating Whittaker but doing so in devastating fashion, knocking him out in punches just under halfway through Round 2.
In the aftermath of an exciting pay-per-view, here are several huge fights which will hopefully be booked.