Alexander Volkanovski, Yair Rodríguez’s Next Best Fights After UFC 290 Results
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Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski once again proved worthy of his moniker with a fourth-round TKO win over Yair Rodríguez to close out UFC 290 in Las Vegas.
The win gives Volkanovski yet another feather in his cap and another example of his dominance in the featherweight division. While his recent attempt to defeat Islam Makhachev for the lightweight crown came up short, there’s no questioning that he’s the best fighter in his native division.
For Rodríguez, this was a disappointing setback after climbing the featherweight mountain to get his crack at the title. It’s not the end, though. Volkanovski is already an all-time great in the weight class and he’s not in bad company.
Now the question shifts to what’s next for both men after their main event matchup. With the belt still firmly around Volkanovski’s waist here’s a look at the best matchup that should come next.
Volkanovski: Conor McGregor
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AP Photo/John Locher
Volkanovski has a strong case to be considered the greatest featherweight of all time. Max Holloway is one of the best to ever do it and he beat him three times. Jose Aldo is another all-timer. The Great beat him to.
The one glaring name missing from the resume? The Notorious one.
Conor McGregor is the division’s biggest star ever. He never defended the belt but the 145-pound class was home to his rise to stardom.
McGregor is probably never making the weight cut back down to 145 pounds, but Volkanovski recently took to Twitter to propose a matchup with McGregor at lightweight. Mystic Mac responded with some trash talk and a seed was planted.
McGregor coached opposite Michael Chandler but there’s no set date for the two to fight. McGregor has yet to enter the USADA testing pool, which requires athletes to be tested for six months before they can compete.
However, UFC President Dana White didn’t rule out McGregor fighting this year. Exemptions have been made in the past for fighters to fight despite being in the pool for less than six months.
That opens the door for a McGregor-Volkanovski matchup.
Rodríguez: Brian Ortega
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Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Rodríguez can’t be written off after losing to Volkanovski. The reigning champion is 34 years old and Father Time is undefeated.
In a post-Volkanovski world, Rodriguez is still going to one of the top contenders. For now, Rodríguez needs an opponent that is going to keep him toward the top of the division while giving him an opportunity to show his growth and improvement from this loss.
A rematch against Brian Ortega would meet both of those requirements.
Their first fight was really inconclusive. Ortega was only unable to continue because of a shoulder injury he suffered during the first round. In fact, the two were putting on a show with Rodríguez landing 23 significant strikes to Ortega’s 22 before the fight ended.
Ortega will be looking to bounce back from the loss when he returns. Rodríguez now has his own loss to recover from.
The winner will be right back in the thick of things and fans will get to see what was developing in their first fight.
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