Top welterweight makes bold 3rd round knockout prediction for Alexander Volkanovski vs Yair Rodriguez fight at UFC 290

This weekend sees UFC 290 take place in Las Vegas, and in the headliner, Alexander Volkanovski will defend his featherweight title against interim champ Yair Rodriguez.

Alexander Volkanovski has held the UFC featherweight title since December 2019. He has made four successful defenses, and is currently ranked as the No.2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

We just witnessed an absolute masterclass from @AlexVolkanovski 👑 #UFC276 https://t.co/LrnOa0yLBK

However, many fans think he might struggle against the unpredictable nature of ‘El Pantera’, who has won four of his last six bouts.

This attitude doesn’t just permeate amongst fans, though. One arguably more educated observer who feels that the upset could be on this weekend is No.3 ranked welterweight Belal Muhammad.

‘Remember the Name’ took to his social media channels today to predict the outcome for this weekend’s main event. His prediction was a simple one.

“Yair by ko in the 3rd.”

Yair by ko in the 3rd

Despite this prediction, it’s fair to say that Volkanovski doesn’t appear to be overlooking Rodriguez in this fight.

A recent interview with ‘Alexander the Great’ saw him state that he knows he needs to “stay on his game” to beat the Mexican, although he also claimed he’d finish Rodriguez.

Watch Alexander Volkanovski speak about his fight with Yair Rodriguez below.

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez – who are the bookmakers favouring at UFC 290?

Despite Belal Muhammad’s prediction that Yair Rodriguez will upset Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 290, the bookmakers currently see things going in the opposite direction.

According to Draftkings, ‘Alexander the Great’ is a -380 favourite to defeat his Mexican opponent. Rodriguez, on the other hand, will come into this bout as a +290 underdog.

Elsewhere on the card, flyweight champ Brandon Moreno is a -190 favourite to retain his title against Alexandre Pantoja, who is a +160 underdog. This line might be a surprise to some, given Pantoja holds two wins over ‘The Assassin Baby’.

Other big favourites on the card include Robert Whittaker, who is -400 to beat Dricus du Plessis, and Tatsuro Taira, who is favoured at -1050 to beat Edgar Chairez.

The biggest betting favourite, though, is Bo Nickal. He is a -2400 favourite to overcome newcomer Val Woodburn, making him the biggest betting favourite in UFC history.

No one in UFC history has been as big of a favorite as Bo Nickal will be at UFC 290.

He puts his undefeated record on the line against unknown commodity Val Woodburn. https://t.co/HFIIBdrOUL