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hey what’s good everybody welcome into this UFC 290 preview our I guess four cornmen looking ahead at International fight weeks main event the main card at UFC 290 myself Phil Murphy we got Brett we got Mark we got Carlos and we got Alexander volkanovsky Brett in the main event first time in his UFC career we’re seeing him rebound off the loss given the fact that it was up a weight class what are your expectations for now Volk looking to re-establish himself at featherweight and defend his belt uh regardless of what had happened in his last fight I would expect a professional performance by Vulcan Austin because that is just who this man is you know he is just professional in every sense of the word that’s that’s why I think so many of us are so darn impressed with Alexander volkanovsky he just checks every box man he is uh mentally psychologically physically strategically always so prepared for all these fights I would I would say that even a guy like that had the loss been very demoralizing had the loss been he went he wanted to move up to 155 for a long time and then went up and just had zero success and was just manhandled by makachev I suppose maybe I would say hey this might be a a possibility where you you could see just a little bit of a lackluster effort just because he had this big dream and it went so poorly but if anything man I think he is so so reinvigorated to just take care of business at 145 and set it up again with 155 like I think going into that we all would have said like hey if Alex loses this is probably like a one-time thing this is probably only going to be an opportunity for him to go up and challenge Islam marketev one time but then the fight went the way in which it did and all of a sudden man like this guy could fight Islam again before the end of the year so I think he’s going to be extremely motivated I think uh you know you give any type of athlete like him little things to work on little tiny nuances that he wants to to play with I’m expecting Alex morganoski man the professional the arguably depending on who you talk to either the number one or number two greatest fighter in the world right now that is who I’m expecting at UFC 290 it is is something of a sizable favorite Carlos I want to talk to you because you you talked to Ilya paporia who was not his opponent this weekend but somebody who impressed a lot of people who are looking at this featherweight division Alex is 34 he’ll be 35 in September that’s when we see a lot of guys start to hit the wall in the smaller weight classes but from from your conversation with iliat deboria and what Alex volkanovski said elsewhere how much do you think the fact that it seems to be this this almost new wave of contenders is Flesh Blood this fresh blood for him to challenge might help serve I guess serve as further motivation for the champion oh he’s definitely a motivation I’ve seen a couple of interviews where he talks about uh topulia and then he even said that he thought he was a even higher ranked he didn’t know he was only in the night on the ninth spot he probably really will be in the top five after the the Emmett uh the Emmett win and um I think I mean toppuria might be uh ready for the for the title for the title shot I mean people will probably have to go over Ortega or or uh Max Holloway depending on the on the schedule depending on what happens between and volcanovski but he he looks ready for the for the for the title shot so I think bokanoski has that um that motivation of having a new Contender he’s the same with with jair because he’s been saying that he he likes the the different challenge that Jay brings because he’s a he’s not a heavy boxer he’s a he’s tracking is completely different he’s coming from a submission win against uh against MN and he he even tried to submit Brian Ortega who’s one of the best uh Jitsu practitioners in the in the in the whole 45 Division so I think he’s excited for these two new challenges but obviously the way I’m I I will say that um I I would agree with with Brad the way that the fight with microchip happened he feels he he wins something there even he he didn’t got the second belt is in somehow is a victory for him because uh the discussion for the pound for pound is still there no one said that machachev is the best pound for pound after that fight a lot of people saw uh balkanovski even winning three rounds in that fight so I think he he has this combination of the motivation to to earn that fight against microchip again and then this uh couple of new Challengers that he haven’t faced uh like who’s not right now in the in the best part to be the the contender so I think he has a lot of motivation to perform on 290. I’ve seen his uh videos or what he’s the way he’s studying jair the the the the the the delayed guard that he because when he’s on he’s back in the in especially in the Emmett fight the way he’s um practicing for his uh uh guard switch from Sapa to to ryegard so I think he’s really motivated and he’s not taking jail for granted or or anything like that well the bookmakers do have yair as a three to one Underdog marker Monday what do you think it would take for Yaya Rodriguez to be the one to Dethrone Alex volcanocia featherweight yeah I mean it would be easy for a champion like vulcanovski to overlook a guy like Gary Rodriguez considering the the odds especially after seeing how good theporia just looked right against Emmett I mean he looked uh just incredible in that fight but yair Rodriguez is just not the guy that you want to overlook because he’s so unpredictable he’s so unorthodox he can beat you in so many different ways and I mean just let just ask Korean zombie I mean you’re not safe against Yara Rodriguez until the final Horn of the final round of that fight and I think that’s what Alexander volcanovic has to worry about and it’s look it’s not going to be an easy you know Road for yair because volcanovsky is one two whatever you want to say best countercon fight in the world but Rodriguez kind of brings something to the table that very few people do he’s not going to be like anything that lokanovski is necessarily seen that division you know he’s not a Max Holloway he’s he’s not an Islam Market Chef he’s uh you know he’s coming at you from all angles he’s incredibly athletic he’s fast he has power in his punches in his legs I mean in his elbows I mean and it’s like uh you know he’s just like like a Tasmanian devil and he’s become so much more polished over the last few years where he can use those weapons more patiently and he can use those weapons more efficiently than maybe he did earlier in his career and just a really dangerous guy and not a guy that you can Overlook even if there’s a big fight against magachev the rematch coming up next even if there’s a big fight against kapori coming up yeah Eric is the guy standing in front of him UFC 290 and that’s the guy he has to be worried about no and it’s broken off ski I think he will be but yeah yours is an unpredictable guy so we’ll see and and if yair is able to pull the upset and Brandon Moreno wins in the co-main event we have three Undisputed Champions who call Mexico home a country with a proud boxing history and a a growing a significantly growing MMA footprint I guess Market with Brandon Moreno’s already success and the fact that he was a guy who was you know shoot one of the last picks on tough and cut from the UFC what do you what do you make of I guess his star power and the collective star power of some of these these Mexican uh Champions or interim champions in the area Rodriguez’s case and how much can can Brandon Moreno improve upon that if he beats Alexander pantosia in the co-main event at UFC 290. I think Brandon Moreno has a chance if he’s not already one of the biggest stars in the UFC especially internationally I was with Brandon Moreno and Ilia toporia actually coincidentally enough last September in Spain they were over there with a collaboration between the UFC and La Liga and Spain of course La Liga is you know the prestigious uh soccer league over there where you know in a country that soccer is King and everything else is very much secondary and why I saw Moreno and toporia you know go to a soccer games there and you know there were fans there to greet them they wanted autographs and they wanted photos and this is Moreno who’s from Mexico you know he’s not from Spain but he is you know he’s a he’s a bilingual athlete and I think that he can you know cross over into many different demographics how about this also one week after this fight UFC 290 that he has against Alexander Pantoja he’s going to be uh featured in a Lucha Libre man she’s not going to be doing any wrestling but he’s going to be in the corner of a team uh at uh Triple A Mania in Tijuana which is of course Moreno’s hometown and the uh the captain of the other team is a very very popular uh Mexican rapper who has you know millions of uh followers on Instagram and uh that’s the kind of celebrity that Moreno has become in Mexico and I think it it’s you know it also crosses over into other countries and and of course Latin Americans in the United States I really think Moreno is uh is really kind of like low-key one of the top stars on the UFC roster right now if he beats pantos and he continues on this run this guy you know the the upside is very high for him Brett I won’t ask you to break down uh the Mexican rap scene but the Mexican MMA scene with Brandon Moreno is is maybe the face of it at the moment this is an opponent though he’s fought before he lost two five years ago and subsequently was cut from the UFC roster how much does that matter when we’re evaluating what’s going to happen when a meets B in Vegas at UFC 290. yeah this is one of those where I just don’t think it matters at all man I mean I want to hesitate to say it just doesn’t matter even zero percent because uh I mean it has to I guess slightly if there’s if they’re familiar with one another and one of them is two and oh over the other but in reality man I just look at Brandon Moreno as a completely different person than he was um five years ago you know it in every sense of the word I mean technique wise um he’s gone through two different coaches since then you know he’s he’s had different training Partners he’s just he’s just grown up as an individual and just the confidence that he’s got he’s carrying himself completely different I mean I would actually sort of relate him to yair I mean that’s that’s something that I’m I’m really high on on yayir as well and why I give him a chance to beat Alex morganovski is just mentalities it’s just the confidence level that they have to uh to win these these big time fights which for yair it’s against you know an obviously formidable opponent um and and one of the bigger stars in the sport and Alex but but for Brandon it’s it’s a lot of pressure as well you know again going against the guy that you’ve lost to before but every thing that Mark just said this guy’s getting a ton of opportunities he’s being looked at as the face of Mexican MMA and so there’s a lot of pressure that comes along with that so I just think personality wise these two are just well suited to handle it and Brandon wasn’t when he back when he was on tough and then he was getting released from the UFC I mean UFC doesn’t release too many people that they think have a bright bright future you know if they’re letting you go especially if you could Captivate the Mexican market I mean that just says what their thoughts were on Brandon as a fighter and also just the flyweight division in general and now you got the guy just completely reinvigorating it and uh and carrying the banner for the Mexican flag so uh to me it doesn’t matter because Brandon Moreno is just not who he was five years ago oh Carlos the man who’s looking to derail Moreno’s I don’t say hype train he’s a champion but derail his momentum is Alexander pentos a man who at the very least have stood across from Moreno a couple times before what do you think needs to happen for pantosha to I guess sweep the trilogy and become the champion well as as red mentioned I mean the pancholia fight was actually what changed uh Mourinho is is is a coincidence it might be a coincidence but in that year it was the same night when Alexa lost to Tatiana Suarez uh Brandon lost to uh Pantoja in uh in the same like a couple of month difference yeah here lost to uh to Frankie aviar so those three losses totally changed them totally changed these three particular Fighters Brandon went to uh after that loss he learned he needed to to box I mean he’s like actually it’s like really odd that um Mexican doesn’t have good boxing Brandon was more into Jujitsu and wrestling he had a an interesting uh high kick that he did damage to Dr Northeast and everything but his striking was not really good then he realized that he needed to go like I mean I’m in Tijuana this is one of the best places to to find a boxing coach he found a boxing coach and his head movement he’s uh striking just improved a lot and the I think the best test to that was the first the first kaikara France fight where he he was facing a really good kickboxer and he he defeated he defeated him so the the fight is gonna be like really different I think uh pantoya has a lot of kills and he’s like he can take your back from so many accurate positions and he can climb and get you into that submission but but Brandon’s Jujitsu is is really good he’s been really good for a while and I don’t think that should be a threat I think if uh pantoya wants to win this fight he will have to be better than than uh than Brandon in the in the Striking and he has a great team he he trains with a lot of uh good partners in in American top team but it’s gonna be a very different fight uh I think when you think about these three fights that the Mexicans have the Mexican Champions have like jair against vulcanovski and the rematch uh the eventual rematch between uh Valentina and and Alexa I think when you could say that brand he’s the one that has the better odds to win this fight so I think patoya needs to get into a war with with the Moreno like the one they had on on The Ultimate Fighter not much what they haven’t what happened in Chile I think it’s going to be more of that and and he needs to build him in on on the on the feeding and it’s not gonna be easy for him it certainly has fight of the night potential when those two meet for the UFC flyweight belt so we have two belts on the line at UFC 290 we also have a former Champion looking to earn himself yet another shot at his former belt and Bobby Knuckles Robert Whittaker Fred okamoto this guy’s fought the loss to one dude in this division Israel adesanya not once but twice drinkist du plessis he’s unbeaten since his ksw days but in your estimation is this too much of a step up for dracus to be facing Robert Whittaker in Vegas UFC 290 Robert Whitaker is too much of a step up for everybody other than israelisanya you said it yourself Phil if you’re not at israelisanya you’re losing to Robert Whittaker and it’s up to directors to to break that Trend but yeah it’s going to be extremely difficult I mean I have uh been sort of the uh um the Robert Whittaker fan club um perhaps alongside with you Phil Murphy but this guy deserves to be in the top 10 pound per pound I mean I he he could be an easily top six top seven guy in the top pound for pound fighters in the world he only loses to Izzy and in fact I’m going to quote the great Marvin vittori I believe who said this was just like actually Robert is better than Israel it’s just that he happens to match up really poorly with Israel and and I don’t know if I believe that I have Israel above Robert Whitaker and my pound for pound standings but I see what what Marvin is saying I like Robert is a very difficult matchup for everybody man it just so happens that his skill set has not led to a win against against Israel yet so the uh the dracus has has his work cut out for him and this guy has kind of and I want to say this delicately because he has been impressive but he’s almost looked like he’s going to lose some of these fights before then he he ends up winning them so he’s got to fight his best performance and that was always going to be the case but especially I think what we’ve seen at a Dray case like you gotta come and have the night of your life right because if you’re going to beat Robert Whitaker because not many people are beating Robert Whittaker man so um I wouldn’t say it’s too much too fast for him it’s it’s appropriate but uh of course Robert’s the favorite for a reason yeah he’s been buzzing around you know picking off every middleweight not named Israel in his non-title fights one of whom was Jared Cannon here and marker Monday Cannon here just had a very impressive win over Marvin Victoria at some of the highest significant strike counts we’ve ever seen does the winner of this Whitaker duplicity fight should they have the next title shot at Israel whether it’s in in Sydney or should it be Jared cannonier for him getting a rematch against how would you match make this division for for the champion adesanya’s next title fight it definitely looks a lot interesting uh more interesting now that it did Phil after Canada’s great win against vittori because that was a different Jerry Canon here which is an incredible thing to say at 38 years old that he’s actually still getting better and he just put the pace on Victoria like we’ve never seen Canon near do before so he’s definitely right up there although his loss to Izzy last year was not super impressive and I’m not sure if there’s anyone really clamoring for that rematch right now there’s also this Sean Strickland versus abu’s mega meta fight that’s coming up on Saturday in Vegas and if Sean Strickland can win that fight he’s on a probably a pretty short list of guys who can get out of song and next for the title shot the question for me is the timing right so if the UFC wants adesanya in the main event defending his middleweight title in September in Sydney will the Whitaker versus duplessy’s winner be ready for that date that’s a pretty quick turnaround just two months I’m not sure if that’s going to be the case so that could be you know an opening for a Strickland or a kind of near ultimately I do think if Whitaker wins he should get the third fight he deserves it he’s beating everybody else in the division as Brett said and duplexes is the guy that has only wants to play in the first place I’m not even sure why Whitaker versus duplexes is happening uh on July 8th I mean I’m not sure if that that’s a necessary fight for the division uh because adesanya wants to plessies he’s undefeated in the UFC there’s a story there there’s some real life beef going on between them now would have been a really interesting uh you know Main Event storyline for that fight but he’s gonna have to go through Whitaker and uh Whitaker as Brett said he beats everyone who’s not out of Sonya so it’s going to be interesting to see how that fight plays out how Strickland looks against uh kind of an unknown guy and Abus and uh and we’ll see in the next couple weeks now what you know what that Sydney Carter is gonna shave up to be International fight week every year is is the deepest if not one of the deepest cards and this year is no different it’s why we get a Robert Whittaker’s duplicity not any main or co-main but just Elsewhere on the main card Carlos I’m going to take the the championship fights off the table I’ll include Whitaker duplicity in there um and Brandon Mark I do ultimately want your thoughts on this as well we’ll start with Carlos what is one fight or fighter aside from the main and co-main that you are most looking forward to at UFC 290 well um obviously I’m from Mexico and is one of the biggest prospects in the in the female divisions is uh Jasmine howrigi I think uh she was a rookie of the year for for ESPN last year uh she had an impressive performance in her debut even Dana White was there to greet her uh once uh she was coming out of the case so I think if if Jasmine can uh get a win against Denise Gomez Who’s a really good Striker he could be a really fun fight I think she could even get ranked in this in after her third fight so I think he’s going to fight a lot of people are are looking for and um definitely uh Jasmine has a lot of hype even just she’s young she’s uh undefeated and a lot of people in Mexico is uh is is the believing that that she’s gonna be like the the next Champion when if if uh ever Mexico ever has another champion that Jasmine has all the potential so this is a big uh step up for her it’s a big card there’s gonna be a lot of Mexicans there uh because it’s also God and the two Mexican Champions so there’s gonna be a is going to be a lot of Mexican flags in the in the stand so I think it’s a big test for her and how good she really is Brett same question for you whether it’s it’s bow nickel it’s Bobby Knuckles it’s Jack Dela matalina who is somebody aside from the mainland co-main that you are most looking forward to or a fight that you’re anticipating most yeah I mean there’s obviously a lot of potential on this card uh the names you just mentioned like Bo nickel exact element Elena are two of the best prospects in the sport right now so of course I’m excited to see their development I gotta be honest though when I think about the fight I’m going to be most invested in it’s going to be Dan hooker’s fight and that’s because we all love ourselves some Dan hooker and he’s got he’s got such a dangerous guy in front of him and Jalen Turner um if we’re just being honest like it could go bad for Dan hooker and if it does then he’s got some hard questions to answer but he’s been in that position before um but yeah because of just how much I I enjoyed Dan hooker’s fights and the spot that he’s in and hey Jalen Turner he knows that this is a spot to get a big win over a fan favorite so and he’s he’s shown an incredible amount of potential as well so that fight is going to be make me nervous and I’m going to be watching it very very closely man that’s that’s the one I’m going to be make sure I’m in my seat and I’m going to be paying close attention to it and somebody who’s Public Enemy Number One in Australia and New Zealand and Jalen Turner he has wins over Brad Riddell Jamie Malarkey and Joshua cool about in his last four or five wins marker Monday same question to you fight or fighter you’re anticipating the most yeah I’m gonna throw out something that no one has said before how about Robbie Lawler’s retirement fight uh you know one of the one of those exciting fighters to ever put on the gloves to Everest up in the Octagon he’s fighting it’s Nico price which should be a great fight and by the way just two days earlier this man is getting inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame for his fight against Rory McDonnell which by the way for my money is the best fight I’ve ever seen and so I I Gotta Give a shot to the Robbie Lawler I’m looking forward to seeing his final fight and you know he’s not a guy that he’s a man of few words right but I’m just curious to see you know what this retirement you know speech and you know what this week looks like for him and uh and all that but it’s a great card there’s something to get for everyone there’s the greatest prospects there’s you know exciting fights and uh but gotta give some love to uh to a legend in uh in ruthless ruthless Robbie Lawler somebody who debuted in 2002 in the UFC fights off the bottom the card again subject to change so keep it on espn.com MMA not just for all the updates and news going into this card but a a number of previews and different analysticks and things to prepare you for what could prove the card of the Year UFC 290 in Vegas second Saturday in July for Carlos Mark and Brett I’m Phil keep it on espn.com MMA and ESPN mma’s YouTube channel for all the best UFC coverage we have to offer we’ll see you next time thank you for watching ESPN on YouTube for live streaming Sports and premium content subscribe to ESPN Plus