UFC 290: How to watch Volkanovski-Rodriguez and Moreno-Pantoja, start time, fight card, odds (2024)

UFC 290 has a main card that begins at 10 p.m. ET and streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ABC/ESPN/ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Early prelims on ESPN+ are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET.

In the headliner, Alexander Volkanovski (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC) puts his featherweight belt on the line against interim champion Yair Rodriguez in a title unification bout. Volkanovski returns to 145 pounds after a run at the lightweight belt earlier this year against champion Islam Makhachev. He lost the close bout by unanimous decision. Now he’s back at 145 pounds, a weight class in which he’s unbeaten. His most recent featherweight title defense came a year ago against former champ Max Holloway, moving him to 3-0 against the Hawaiian after 75 total minutes in the cage.

While Volkanovski made his run at a second title at lightweight, the UFC put an interim featherweight title on the line in February. Yair Rodriguez (16-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) passed his test against Josh Emmett with flying colors with a second-round submission to win the interim belt. Now he’ll try for the full title against a man many now consider the GOAT of the weight class.

Brandon Moreno (21-6-2 MMA, 9-3-2 UFC) puts his flyweight title on the line for the first time in his second reign as champion when he takes on Alexandre Pantoja in the co-feature. Moreno won the title in June 2021, but lost it back to Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 270. After he won an interim title, he unified it in a fourth bout against Figueiredo in January and chased the now ex-champ out of the division. Against Pantoja, Moreno meets someone he lost to by decision in May 2018 –which at the time led to his release from the UFC.

Alexandre Pantoja (25-5 MMA, 9-3 UFC) brings one big advantage to his first UFC title shot: He already has aa win over champion Brandon Moreno more than five years ago, when he took a decision from the Mexican that led to his brief release from the UFC. Pantoja has gone 7-2 starting with that win over Moreno, but it’s his back-to-back bonus-winning submissions of Brandon Royval and Alex Perez leading into this title shot that have many thinking he’s a live underdog.

Didn’t know it was out there lol… Josiah is going to surprise people I can promise that. A weeks notice against Jack is a tall order but Joey is special and he’ll show it https://t.co/TuL2LDbpod

— Matt Brown (@IamTheImmortal) July 2, 2023

Josiah Harrell (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) gets his first shot at the UFC on short notice when he steps up to take on the highly touted Jack Della Maddalena (14-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on the prelims. Harrell, who trains in Ohio in part with longtime UFC fighter Matt Brown, who announced his short-notice signing, has all seven of his wins by stoppage, including recent knockouts in fights for CFFC and LFA.

Edgar Chairez (10-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is the latest member of the Entram Gym team in Tijuana, Mexico, to make it to the UFC. He’ll jerk the curtain in a flyweight bout against the unbeaten Tatsuro Taira (13-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) to open the prelims. Chairez has back-to-back submission wins on the heels of a 2022 decision loss to Clayton Carpenter on Dana White’s Contender Series.

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Champ Alexander Volkanovski (-420) vs. interim champ Yair Rodriguez (+320) –featherweight title unification fight
• Champ Brandon Moreno (-200) vs. Alexandre Pantoja (+170) –for flyweight title
• Dricus Du Plessis (+300) vs. Robert Whittaker (-380)
• Dan Hooker (+205) vs. Jalin Turner (-250)
• Bo Nickal vs. TBA

PRELIMINARY CARD (ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

• Robbie Lawler (+210) vs. Niko Price (-260)
• Josiah Harrell (+650) vs. Jack Della Maddalena (-1100)
• Denise Gomes (+320) vs. Yazmin Jauregui (-420)
• Jimmy Crute (-110) vs. Alonzo Menifield (-110)

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

• Vitor Petrino (-280) vs. Marcin Prachnio (+230)
• Terrence Mitchell (+340) vs. Cameron Saaiman (-440)
• Jesus Aguilar (-190) vs. Shannon Ross (+160)
• Kamuela Kirk (+160) vs. Esteban Ribovics (-190)
• Edgar Chairez (+600) vs. Tatsuro Taira (-900)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.