- Michael Bisping expects Yair Rodriguez to give Alexander Volkanovski a hard time at UFC 290
- “The Count” thinks Volk will win via TKO in the final round
Michael Bisping acknowledges the skill set of Yair Rodriguez but he is still convinced nobody In the featherweight division could dethrone Alexander Volkanovski.
Volk will have the Last Laugh
Sharing his UFC 290 prediction on his YouTube channel, “The Count” assessed that Volk is ahead of Rodriguez in all categories. On the other hand, Bisping thinks “El Pantera” will give “The Great” a competitive fight but the reigning champ will still cap the match off with a TKO in the final round.
“I just think the movement’s too much, I think the in and out movement, I think the footwork and the speed, the combinations, the boxing, the wrestling, the takedown defense, you put it all together, I don’t see how Yair can win this fight,” Bisping speculated.
“I think it will be competitive for a while until [Volkanovski] starts to find the rhythm, starts to find the mark and starts to bust him up,” he added. “I really don’t think that anyone in the featherweight division is going to trouble him anytime soon and I’m just going to throw it out there, I’ll say TKO, round five for Volkanovski.”
It’s just like the Max Holloway fight
For Bisping, Rodriguez is capable of starting out blazing but in the end, Volk would systematically dismantle him towards the end just like what Max Holloway did at UFC Vegas 42.
“Look at the fight between Yair Rodriguez and Max Holloway, okay Yair really started fantastically hitting him with massive kicks and all the rest of all the kind of tricks that Yair Rodriguez has but slowly but surely, Max Holloway found his rhythm, he found his groove, and he found his timing and he took home a pretty unanimous decision,” the Brit pointed out.
“I think it’s going to be a similar kind of thing here,” he continued. “Yeah, he was tough as hell okay but if there’s anyone that can finish him it will be Alexander Volkanovski. There’s a chance it goes to the scorecards though but make no mistake I’ve got Volkanovski winning this.”
Volkanovski is coming in ready to prove that he is still the king of the featherweight division. On the other hand, “The Great” still has his sights set on a rematch with Islam Makhachev.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, will be hoping to get rid of the interim featherweight champion title and become the full pledged 145-pound champ. He is coming off a sensational two-fight winning streak both by way of finish.
Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez will headline UFC 290 this weekend at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada.
