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Former UFC Flyweight and Bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo recently provided his prediction for the upcoming UFC 290 main event between Alexander Volkanovski and Yair Rodriguez.
On Saturday night, an intriguing stylistic matchup will determine the undisputed UFC featherweight champion as Volkanovski looks to retain his throne. On the other side of the Octagon will be Rodriguez, an unpredictable striker looking to change his life with an upset win.
Fighters and analysts seem split on their predictions for the UFC 290 main event due to Rodriguez’s impressive run and Volkanovski’s dominance in the division. In a video that was posted on Twitter, Henry Cejudo revealed who he thinks will win by saying:
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“My prediction, guys, I’m gonna have to go with the upset here. I know I have been wrong quite a bit lately, but you know what? I’m betting on this underdog. I’m betting on Yair Rodriguez either to point-fight him and beat him by unanimous decision all five rounds or maybe seeing that front kick up the middle for the eventual knockout.”
Volkanovski is coming off a unanimous decision loss after he attempted to become a two-division champion against the reigning UFC lightweight king, Islam Makhachev. When it comes to the featherweight division, ‘The Great’ maintains a perfect streak, winning eleven consecutive fights in the promotion.
At the same time, Rodriguez is riding a two-fight win streak after losing against Max Holloway in November 2021. He bounced back from the Holloway loss with a first-round finish against Brian Ortega before securing the interim featherweight title against Josh Emmett in February.
Henry Cejudo details what Yair Rodriguez should do to defeat Alexander Volkanovski
Interestingly, Yair Rodriguez has plenty of tools that could challenge Alexander Volkanovski in ways that other opponents haven’t accomplished yet. With that said, ‘El Pantera’ will need a solid game plan to dethrone the long-reigning featherweight king.
In the same Twitter video, Henry Cejudo broke down what Rodriguez would have to do to find success at UFC 290:
“I feel like if you’re Yair Rodriguez, he could really come out and invest in chewing up that front leg and then eventually come in with maybe something more down the middle… Another thing that Yair Rodriguez is more likely should be playing that distance game, frustrate Volkanovski with movement. Volkanovski gets closer? I’m out or I’m kicking. I’m pretty much just point-fighting this guy.”
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Volkanovski is a sizeable betting favorite at -380, with Rodriguez listed as a +290 underdog. It’ll be intriguing to see if ‘The Great’ can extend his reign of terror in the featherweight division or if Henry Cejudo is right and ‘El Pantera’becomes the third reigning undisputed UFC champion.
