UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez

The official Tapology discussion thread for the event!

Lmao Ddp is losing but imagine all of tap losing our minds if he subs or kos bobby knuckles!

I like whittaker but honestly I hope ddp wins. Him vs adesanya would be a great fight & izzy finally gets to fight someone new. That being said whittaker is gonna kill him lol. Even if he manages to drop whittaker (whose chin I don’t rate very highly) rob has insane recovery. That being said ddp was able to ko soldic so u never know… 

Nah but seriously rob probably finishes him in the 1st or 2nd. This is gonna be a masterclass from him 

Agreed Ayy - I don't mind Whittaker at all and he's super likable and determined etc, but DDP winning is best for the divison at this point for me and interest/intrigue. But like you said, I see Whittaker whining.

If JDM wins against Brady, dude is just friggin' legit and should be getting an even higher/bigger name.

-370 for Bobby Knucks against DDP is wild. For a guy that has a near 100% finish rate and is 5-0 in the UFC, DDP is being under-rated in this fight. He should ABSOLUTELY be the underdog but these odds seem just a tad wide to me. Cannonier had Whittaker on skates at the end of their fight. I would have loved to have seen that fight go to a 4th round but unfortunately it wasn't a main event. I think DDP knows if he tries to engage in a technical war with Whittaker he's going to get ****** up and lose an easy decision if not be Whittaker's first finish in 6 years.

I think the only reason people aren't high on him is because his style is kind of bizarre and unpleasant to the eye. He carries a lot of muscle and starts to get tired like any fighter but every fight he's visibly taking these big, deep breaths like he's absolutely sucking in wind to stay alive. That, combined with how he uses a higher guard and shells up to defend shots is definitely not super pleasing to the eye. 

But so far, it's worked for him. Again, I don't think he's getting enough respect for a guy with a near 100% career finish rate. Anybody who watched his only decision win against Tavares knows that he beat the ever living **** out of him. Dricus has proven time and time again he is an absolute dog who at this point should relish at the idea of facing some adversity, because he passes the test every time. 

Bobby Knuckles is so much technically better than DDP it's not even funny but DDP just figures out a way to win fights. I can't say it any simpler than that. I think DDP is going to make this fight as ugly as he possibly can. 

I thjnk -370 is a steal for bobby

If you genuinely believe that you should place a bet as we get closer to this card cause that line is 1000% going to drop. There's no way DDP is going to be an almost 4 to 1 under-dog come fight night. Plenty of people are going to put money on him.

I see the line for Bobby closing closer to -280 or just under 3 to 1 odds. 

I hope people put money on ddp, rob would be a super nice parlay peice if he drops below -300

Jauregui vs. Gomes
Yazmin Jauregui, DEC
Could be a banger or a jab run fest, hard to say.

Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez
Yair Rodriguez, TKO, R2
Rodriguez will land a head kick just like Leon did on Kamaru. I think he starts setting it up with lots of body kicks in the first. Then throw a headkick after a leg kick.

Moreno vs. Pantoja III
Brandon Moreno, TKO, R4
Moreno gets a knockdown then ground and pound. Later rounds because Pantoja will look for an early sub and he will get out those positions

Nickal vs. Gore
Bo Nickal, SUB, R1
Bo Nickal by 1st round RNC. Backpack. I want to see him flatten Gore out and get a ground and pound for the odds

Whittaker vs. Du Plessis
Robert Whittaker, TKO, R2
I think Dricus will gas out in the first after looking for a highlight real KO. Whittaker sticks the jab and finishes him with straight punches

Lawler vs. Price
Niko Price, TKO, R1
NIcko will find a finish here. Robbie should retire. They both have lots of damage taken but i think Robbie is just done. Unanswered punches against the cage

Hooker vs. Turner
Jalin Turner, SUB, R1
Turner finds the armbar from top mount. I think turner wants some 3 more wins to get a title shot. So he will bring this to the ground and sub him for saftey.

Brady vs. Maddalena
Jack Della Maddalena, TKO, R1
Belal? Im thinking a finish withing 1 minute

Ross vs. Aguilar
Jesus Aguilar, SUB, R1
Ross has fought 2 good opponents in his last fight. Both having good striking. Im worried about this standup. because Aguilar doesn't string good combos together.

Jauregui vs. Gomes
Yazmin Jauregui, TKO, R1
Bruna Brasil was probaly just a fraud. Yazmin by 1st round tko.

I really don't want to see Whittaker vs Adesanya again, Adesanya has his number plain and simple.  There is nothing I've seen from Rob's two fights against Adesanya or his recent fights against others that is going to lead me to believe he can finally beat Adesanya in a third fight.  I really like Rob, he is a great personality and ambassador for the sport and he is a very talented fighter but he isn't ever going to beat Adesanya no matter what.

I hope for the sake of seeing new matchups, DDP finds a way to win however unlikely that may seem.  For the record, DDP isn't beating Adesanya either but at least it's a fresh matchup for us and all that "I'm More African Than You" trash talk is going to make the leadup entertaining. 

* Edited at 05.04.2023, 8:10 AM ET *

I think we’re getting ceerod vs saaiman on this one…

Yep fights official now

Banger 

I disagree about Izzy/Whittaker 3. It would be a great fight. Rob did much better in the 2nd fight. 

Rodriguez vs. Saaiman
Christian Rodriguez, DEC
they keep throwing prospects against each other instead of having rising prospects start moving up the rankings by facing the old and fading remnants of the division. Don't like seeing these guys squared off against each other

Imo Rob won the second fight after rewatching it. It could go either way there’s no one else who can even test Izzy (I don’t know where tf Khamzat is fighting he seems to change it up all the time calling out Izzy then Leon)

AMAZING FEATHERWEIGHT FIGHT HERE

The South African boys get it done again. Dricus shocks the world here and KO's Rob in round 2. I love Rob like everybody else, but it's inevitable. 

Dumb qeustion does anyone but ikram want to see him vs bo nickel?
Surely he will get beat up badly long before any grappling.

I need to see more of Bo ngl