Headlining during International Fight Week for the second time in his gold-laden Octagon tenure, Alexander Volkanovski is once again closing as a heavy betting favorite to retain his status as king of the featherweights, ahead of his UFC 290 main event slot against interim gold holder, Yair Rodríguez.
Volkanovski, a featherweight champion to boot, saw his promotional-perfect tenure come to an end at UFC 284 back in February, suffering a unanimous decision loss to lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev in Perth, Australia.
Earlier on that same card, Mexican striking ace, Rodríguez landed the interim featherweight championship win – stopping recent UFC Jacksonville main event feature, Josh Emmett with an impressive second round triangle choke submission victory.