Alexander Volkanovski vs Yair Rodriguez Targeted for UFC 290

Alexander Volkanovski is set to make an appearance at this year’s International Fight Week as well. 

According to the latest reports, Alexander Volkanovski will face Yair Rodriguez in a featherweight title unification bout at the UFC 290 PPV event on July 10. 

Ariel Helwani reported this matchup by sharing a tweet. He also revealed that the contract hasn’t been signed for this bout but both sides have agreed to it. 

Alex Volkanovski x Yair Rodríguez is scheduled for UFC 290 on July 8, per sources.

Not signed yet but everyone is on board. Featherweight title unification bout. TBD on what will serve as the main event for that card just yet. pic.twitter.com/dtNy01GQFC

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 6, 2023

It will be Alexander Volkanovski’s second consecutive appearance during International Fight Week. Last year, he defeated Max Holloway during the same at UFC 276. Volkanovski is coming off his solo career against Islam Makhachev. He went for a five-round war against Makhachev at UFC 284, but in the end, he lost via unanimous decision. 

On the other hand, Yair Rodriguez also had a match at UFC 284 where he defeated Josh Emmett to become the interim UFC featherweight champion. Before that, he defeated Brian Ortega via first-round TKO. 

Now, it remains to be seen whether Alexander Volkanovski returns to the winning path during International Fight Week or Rodriguez delivers him his second consecutive loss.