Jamal Murray promotes UFC 290 fight rooting for featherweight champ: "I'm bringing that championship DNA"
With UFC 290 around the corner, the biggest stars in the UFC will be taking center stage on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Ahead of the highly anticipated event, Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray has thrown his support behind featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski.
Murray was featured on the UFC's social media accounts announcing that he's in Las Vegas and ready to bring championship DNA to the title unification fight. The event, which is expected to draw in a huge number of fans from around the world, headlines the UFC's annual 'International Fight Week' on Saturday.
Championship DNA 🧬🏆
NBA champ @BeMore27 riding with @AlexVolkanovski tonight at #UFC290! https://t.co/OUzBiYSfRX
"What's up everybody, it's Jamal Murray here, we out here in Vegas man, I'm bringing that Championship DNA to the fight, 290, gonna see my guy Volkanovski win it man. Let's go!"
What many basketball fans may not know is that featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is a big fan of the NBA, specifically the Denver Nuggets. Back in November of 2022, Volkanovski attended a game with Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon before then heading to watch UFC 281.
As he explained in a recent interview with Daniel Cormier, he even took a private jet with the two Denver Nuggets stars.
UFC 290 headliner Alexander Volkanovski and NBA champion Jamal Murray's friendship explained
While it isn't clear how the friendship between Alexander Volkanovski and Jamal Murray began, it seems the two have been friends for some time now. Last summer, the two men switched roles for a day, with Murray training in MMA, and Volkanovski doing basketball training.
The video, which was released on Volkanovski's YouTube channel, has racked up over 200,000 views since its release.
🏼
Nuggets takes the championship 🏆
Shoutout to my guys Jamal and AG. Congratulations champs, well deserved 🙌🏼 https://t.co/VbVl1YfxiQ
In addition, after the Denver Nuggets won the NBA Championship, Volkanovski released another video just a few weeks ago, hooping with the team. In the video, the featherweight champ can be seen sporting an autographed Jamal Murray jersey as well.
The stakes are at an all-time high at UFC 290
Heading into UFC 290, the stakes are at an all-time high for both featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and interim champion Yair Rodriguez. After coming up short in his quest for two-division champ status, Volkanovski now looks to unify the 145-pound title and remind the featherweights who's the champ.
In addition to the featherweight title unification bout between Volkanovski and Rodriguez, the card will also feature a flyweight title fight in the co-main event. As if that wasn't enough, the card will play host to a middleweight title eliminator between former champion Robert Whittaker, and streaking contender Dricus Du Plessis.
Also on the main card, fan favorites Dan Hooker and Jalin Turner will fight in a bout that has all the makings of a 'Fight of the Year' contender. With all that in mind, we would be remiss if we didn't mention the retirement fight of Robbie Lawler, a fighter who has transcended eras throughout his storied career.