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UFC 290 Odds, Expert Picks, Predictions

By Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief Updated: 29 June 2023

Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief

Blake Roberts is the founder of Betting.US and is currently heading the creative team as Editor in Chief. Born and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, Blake is a great sports fan, with football and basketball being his favorite. He’s our trusted voice for all betting-related matters.

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Fight fans worldwide are divided over the UFC’s new approach to making fights: there are stacked cards seemingly every weekend. While some argue that this dilutes the sport, it is an important period in the company’s history meant to help identify and spotlight new talent and emerging contenders. With an event every week, the UFC is giving its fans and the best online MMA betting websites at least one or two new names to follow in its bid to build up the stars of the next generation of mixed martial arts.

As the first numbered UFC event since UFC 289, which took place on June 11, UFC 290 is headlined by many much-awaited championship bouts in the featherweight and flyweight divisions. The remainder of the main card features bouts between established top contenders and surging prospects. Below, you can read a breakdown of every fight on the card and our predictions for each.

Featherweight Championship Bout: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez

UFC 290 is set to be headlined by a 5-round contest between Alexander “The Great Volkanovski” and Yair “El Pantera” Rodriguez. This fight will mark Volkanovski’s return to the featherweight division since moving up a weight class to challenge Islam Makhachev for the Lightweight Championship back in February this year. Alex’s performance against the Dagestani champion earned him tremendous respect from fighters and fans alike, as he could hold his own against a seemingly invincible opponent and narrowly lose out on the scorecards.

Facing off against the featherweight GOAT is Yair Rodriguez, a Mexican fighter with an approach built around relentless aggression, wild striking, and a willingness to stand and trade in the pocket. “El-Pantera” is coming off two impressive wins over Brian Ortega and Josh Emmett that catapulted him into title contention.

Stylistically, this main event is an intriguing matchup. On the one hand, we have Volkanovski, who has a massive fighting IQ and an ability to adapt his style to match his opponents. On the other hand, we have Rodriguez, who does not indicate where his strikes will come from.

However, Volkanovski is far too calculated a fighter to be drawn into wild striking exchanges. Additionally, he has proven to have the cardio to go deep into fights without backing off. Our prediction for the main event of UFC 290 is for Alexander Volkanovski to win by unanimous decision.

Flyweight Championship Bout: Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja

The co-main event at UFC 290 guarantees fireworks as fiery Mexican champion Brandon Moreno faces off against no. 1 contender Alexandre Pantoja. Moreno has ruled the roost at Flyweight since 2020. However, he has faced the same opponent four times since claiming gold, building up one of the greatest rivalries in UFC flyweight history. He firmly put his rivalry with Deiveson Figueiredo to rest by knocking him out in the third round of their fourth and final fight.

Alexandre Pantoja is only the second fresh opponent that Brandon Moreno will be facing in his six championship fights in the flyweight division. In this classic matchup of the technical brawler vs. the submission specialist in Alexandre Pantoja, we expect Moreno to hold a significant advantage due to his vast experience in championship fights. We predict that Moreno will win by TKO in the third or fourth round.

Middleweight Bout: Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus Du Plessis

Few fighters are loved by fans as dearly as Robert “The Reaper Whittaker.” He has sat at the top of the middleweight division since 2014 and has one of the most impressive resumes in the sport. His only losses between 2014 and 2023 came at the hands of reigning champion Israel Adesanya. Therefore, anyone who wants to rise to the top of the middleweight food chain has to go through “The Reaper,” and he has made it very clear that he is unmovable from the number 2 spot in the division.

So how does a fighter with only five wins in the division find himself facing off against Whittaker? The South African-born and raised Dricus Du Plessis shot to fame when he famously proclaimed that he was “more African” than Nigeria-descended Adesanya. This statement didn’t go unnoticed, with Adesanya making it his personal responsibility to face him in the cage. However, one can’t jump the rankings regardless of the controversy they create, and he finds himself in a three round fight against Robert Whittaker.

Du Plessis might be getting thrown into the deep end, as he has not faced any top-five opponents in the division and is jumping straight to the No. 1 contender spot. Our prediction is for Robert Whittaker to win by KO/TKO.

Lightweight Bout: Jalin Turner vs. Dan Hooker

The second fight on the UFC 290 main card is a lightweight bout between upcoming contender Jalin Turner and established veteran Dan Hooker. Turner has impressed with his recent performances, with all his wins coming by finish.

On the other hand, Dan Hooker has been seeing mixed results of late, with more losses than wins in the last couple of years. With that said, we think that this matchup faces Turner, who is already quite large for the Lightweight Division, as he will be facing a former featherweight in Dan hooker. We predict a win by TKO for Jalin Turner in the first or second round.

Middleweight Bout: Bo Nickal vs. Tresan Gore

The first fight on the main card of UFC 290 is one that is likely to dictate the future of the Middleweight Division in the UFC. It features a 3-round contest between undefeated star prospect Bo Nickal and Tresean Gore. Those who bet on UFC fights know the importance of this contest.

Nickal’s star status has given them a spot to perform under the bright lights of a UFC pay-per-view main event. The oddsmakers have Nickal as an overwhelming favorite: we predict that he gets the win by submission in under two rounds.