Chael Sonnen believes UFC 290 could end with a new undisputed featherweight champion crowned.
Yair Rodriguez will unify his interim belt with 145-pound champion Volkanovski in the July 8 main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Volkanovski (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC) is unbeaten as a featherweight in the octagon and took dominant lightweight champion Islam Makhachev to the brink in their title fight at UFC 284. With Volkanovski angling for a rematch, Sonnen wonders if his focus on Rodriguez (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) could be lacking.
“I am a little worried about that fight because that fight has all the feelings of an upset,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “Every upset that you have has the same ingredients. And more times than not, when one fighter is not focused on a fight, another one is. Bad things happen because nothing will make you fall apart in combat faster than finding yourself in a match that is harder than you thought it was going to be. Nothing will make your mind start doing different formulas and making different excuses, and your goals will change quickly as soon as that opponent is harder than you thought he was going to be.
“The only reason I bring that up is nobody is putting any focus that I ever see on Rodriguez. Oh, by the way, that includes Rodriguez. Yair Rodriguez has the trickiest skillset possibly that I have ever seen. … A straight-up badass. This is a ‘BMF’-type guy. Rodriguez is a true badass. He has elected to stay very quiet. He has elected to put all of the focus and all of the pressure on Volkanovski.”
According to BetMGM, Rodriguez is a +320 underdog, meaning a $100 bet on the challenger would win $320. Volkanovski is -450 favorite, meaning a $450 bet would be needed on the champion to return $100 profit.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.