Alexander Volkanovski will defend the featherweight championship Saturday in the main event of UFC 290.
He will compete in a title unification bout against interim champ Yair Rodríguez, who seeks to prove he is a genuine threat to Volkanovski’s reign atop the division. Yet there is a pivotal piece of the script that is missing. Volkanovski intended to arrive in Vegas as the champ-champ, ruling over the featherweight and lightweight divisions—and standing tall as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
That will not be the case at 290.
Volkanovski (25–2) lost his showdown against lightweight champ Islam Makhachev in February. Despite a unanimous decision finish by the judges, Makhachev narrowly escaped, preventing Volkanovski—who controlled the fight in its latter stages—from achieving a history-making feat.
“Obviously, it was a close fight,” says Volkanovski. “I finished very strong. We thought we did enough. A lot of people thought we did enough. It is what it is, and we’ve got to move on, but it definitely was frustrating.”
Processing only the second defeat of his career—and his first since 2013 (oddly, both losses occurred in his native Australia)—has been a source of angst for Volkanovski, especially considering he did enough damage to win the fight. But Makhachev’s hand was raised, and that is an outcome Volkanovski cannot change.
“It’s been hard,” says Volkanovski. “It was a big title fight, and I wanted that moment in Australia. It was a David-vs.-Goliath type of story. It was shaping up to be a perfect ending. I just didn’t get my hand raised.”
So Volkanovski will look to make an example out of his next opponent. That distinction belongs to Rodríguez (15–3, 1 NC), a multitalented assassin in the cage. With only one title instead of two, this is not the script Volkanovski wanted as he arrived in Vegas. But he has been handed a new opportunity, and that is to deliver another masterpiece, this time at the expense of Rodríguez.
Volkanovski and Rodríguez share a couple of the same opponents, with Max Holloway particularly sticking out. Holloway defeated Rodríguez by unanimous decision in November 2021. However, Volkanovski has owned Holloway, defeating him in ’19 and ’20 before decimating him in their third fight last summer.
Rodríguez possesses the power needed to beat Volkanovski, no different than Holloway. The difference is speed. Holloway could not protect himself or respond to Volkanovski’s onslaught. That appears to be the spoiler for this Saturday’s fight, as Volkanovski’s speed should be the determining factor in this bout.
“Yair is very dangerous, and it’s the biggest fight of his life,” says Volkanovski, who, at 34, has shown no signs of slowing down. “But I’m planning on having this belt for a very long time.”
For all of Rodríguez’s strengths, this is a fight that favors Volkanovski. He cannot afford a second straight loss, specifically when he designs to return to lightweight and finally seize that title.
“There are a lot of exciting fights in my future,” says Volkanovski. “I want that lightweight title, and there are so many contenders in that stacked division. But all my plans are useless if I don’t get the win this weekend.
“I’m 100% focused on Yair. He’s dangerous, but I’m going to show why I’m the number-one guy. I’m coming for records, starting with the pound-for-pound number one.”
There is a building sense in the desert air that this fight will last as long as Volkanovski wants. It is Rodríguez’s responsibility to change that, even if it is an increasingly unlikely proposition.
“I’m fighting for my legacy,” says Volkanovski. “I’m fighting for people to remember my name. I’m going to keep moving forward until I’m in the conversation as the best of all time.”
Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.
