UFC 290 goes down in Las Vegas tomorrow night and I must say, it's a pretty strong card. Intriguing prelims leading to an awesome main card featuring two championship fights!

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Here are some of the fights that intrigue me the most, or at least fights that I know something about:

Cameron Saaiman vs Terrence Mitchell - Men's Bantamweight Bout

South African Cameron Saaiman is set to go to battle against American Terrence Mitchell in an early prelim bout. This fight is on short notice as Cameron's original opponent pulled out.

Cameron Saaiman is an up and comer with a bit of hype to him. I remember his last fight back in March very well, I was actually pulling for his opponent to win, but man Cameron earned my respect! Dude is well rounded and athletic.

Saaiman is currently undefeated at 8-0.

Terrence Mitchell on the other hand is a mysterious fighter that I don't really know anything about. It looks like he's been on the Ultimate Fighter at one point in his career, and then according to Sherdog he's had a three year absence of pro fights and a recent five year absence.

I think Saaiman gets it done.

#14 Jimmy Crute vs Alonzo Menifield - Light Heavyweight Bout

Australian Jimmy Crute and American Alonzo Menifield are set to face off for the second time in less than five months when they fight tomorrow at UFC 290.

The two men fought to a draw at UFC 284 on February 12th.

Menifield actually grabbed the fence late in this fight, and it cost him a key point.

Jimmy Crute had some hype behind him once upon a time, but he's struggled lately going 2-3-1 in his last six fights. His last win came in October of 2020.

Menifield is the older, but hotter fighter. He is 4-1-1 in his last six fights.

It's safe to say this is a big fight for both of these men! I think Alonzo Menifield gets the win.

Jack Della Maddelena vs Josiah Harrell - Welterweight Bout

Jack Della Maddelena is an up and coming fighter that I'm quickly becoming a huge fan of. Jack is 4-0 since joining the UFC in January 2022, three of those wins came by TKO. Jack has outstanding fun to watch boxing skills. I think he has great championship potential.

Jack is facing an unknown fighter making his UFC debut in Josiah Harrell. Josiah is 7-0 as a pro and recently has a cool viral moment where he straight up tackled a dude through a cage door.

I am pulling and expect Jack to keep his momentum and win, but it would be wild to see this Josiah dude come out of nowhere and make a name for himself.

Robbie Lawler vs Niko Price - Welterweight Bout

Robbie Lawler, the absolute legend, fights for the final time tomorrow! This is such a sad, sentimental, nostalgic moment all wrapped in one. No disrespect to Niko, but I really hope Lawler gets one last savage victory!

Robbie is an absolute shoo-in for the UFC Hall of Fame, in fact he already is in the Fight Wing thanks to his legendary fight with Rory MacDonald in 2015.

Lawler has just done it all in the UFC. Fought in multiple weight classes. Been in epic wars. Became a feared champion, defended his championship several times. Became a fan favorite in general. No matter what happens, us fans thank you Robbie!!

Niko finds himself in a tough spot. He's been pretty much a .500 fighter in the UFC and tomorrow he goes into a fight where 99 percent of the people watching will want Lawler to win. Niko has to try and break some hearts it seems.

Niko is a big brawler, while Robbie is a compact, Tyson-like brawler. I think Lawler has one more bit of magic in him!!

Bo Nickal vs Val Woodburn - Middleweight Bout

I have mentioned hype trains a few times in this post, but by far the biggest hype train on this card, and probably the UFC, is Bo Nickal.

Bo was an excellent collegiate wrestler and has since turned his attention to an MMA career.

MENACE!

His background as a wrestler and his confidence as a whole and of course a nice little bump from the UFC has created a hug amount of buzz for him. Overall he is just a unique character.

I know a lot of people might not like him, but I'm on the Bo train! He has a unique dominant skillset, and I think he has a great work ethic to develop his other skills. He has great size for his division as well.

I heard on social media that Bo is the biggest betting favorite in UFC history going into this fight against Val Woodburn.

Bo was supposed to face a different opponent, but due to injury a dude named Val Woodburn is set to take his place. That name doesn't even sound real LOL.

Woodburn has a mega opportunity to make history and win after being considered one of the biggest underdogs ever! It would likely change his life forever!

I will say, Val is a small dude, but I wonder how Bo deals with the smaller fighter. They're a bit difficult to take down....

A lot of pressure on Nickal, but he's used to that. I think Nickal gets it done.

Let's go BO!

Jalin Turner vs Dan Hooker - Lightweight Bout

Well, WOW. This fight is going to be wild!

Dan Hooker is a legend at this point and he's only 33. Hooker is loved by pretty much all MMA fans, including myself. I really think he has the ability to win every fight he's in. I don't think a championship is in his future, but if he ever won the title, the MMA world would go nuts. That would be so cool.

Hooker has gone through a bit of an identity crisis in recent years. He's had dominant wins and he's had some bad losses, and every other type of loss and win in between. He's changed his weight classes and now he's back with new tattoos and a new hairstyle.

Maybe the Hangman is trying to be reborn?

In Dan's way is an intriguing talent in the super tall Jalin Turner. Turner is a giant for the weight class and is on the upswing winning 6 of his last 8 fights! Turner did miss weight though so that should be an interesting aspect to consider.

I think Turner gets it done, but I won't be mad if I'm wrong!

Robert Whittaker vs Dricus Du Plessis - Middleweight Bout

This is a super cool, interesting fight. The winner just might fight for the championship next!

Whittaker is a universally loved fighter and former champ and perhaps current champ Adaesanya's biggest challenge, despite Whittaker already losing twice to the champ.

Du Plessis on the other hand is very much a darkhorse on an impressive winning streak.

People don't really believe that Du Plessis is a legit championship threat. He fights sort of awkward, sorta reckless. His chin seems sorta in the air a lot. But still, four very game fighters could not figure him out, as Du Plessis is 4-0 in the UFC thus far.

If Du Plessis can get the win, he might get the fast track to the title since him and the champ have got a bit of beef.

I think Whittaker gets it done, but Du Plessis is a bit of a wild card.

Brandon Moreno vs Alexandre Pantoja - For the UFC Men's Flyweight Championship! 🏆

Brandon Moreno has become a borderline household MMA name at this point, and I can't say I saw that coming. He never seemed to have that 'it' factor until something within him switched about three-four years ago and he became a serious force.

He faces Alexandre Pantoja who is 9-3 in the UFC, riding a three fight win streak, and oh yeah, has TWO victories over Moreno himself!!!

Sure, Moreno has improved, but I am sure Pantoja has as well, and he already defeated Moreno twice, so I am taking Pantoja in this one! Not rocket science here! New champ on it's way I believe!

Pantoja seems stronger looking to me, we shall see how it all goes down.

Alexander Volkanovski vs Yair Rodriguez - For the UFC Men's Featherweight Championship! 🏆

Last, but CERTAINLY not least is the fight for the UFC Featherweight Title!

Yair Rodriguez is a very intriguing challenger, while I admit he's very formidable, I wonder if there are some holes in his game? He got ragdolled by Frankie Edgar. He beat the Korean Zombie essentially on a Hail Mary attempt LITERALLY at the last second. He then beat Brian Ortega in a very weird fashion when Ortega hurt his shoulder.

While each of those individual fights are unique and can be debated, the fact that ALL three happened is sort of odd to say the least. I'm not even sayin Yair is not legit, I just find it odd.

Also, Yair lost to Holloway and of course MMA fans know that Volkanovski beat Max three freaking times!

I guess it won't come as a shock that I believe Alex will win this one.

Alex is basically an athletic rock, with good fight IQ. The guy is a beast man.

There are things going against Alex though.

There's the always important question of, is champ life getting to Alex's head, is he getting to comfy? Is his razor close decision loss to Islam still bothering him? Alex is still pretty much in his prime at 34, but Yair at 30, is arguably perfectly in his prime.

Plus, there is this mysterious cut on Volk's face. I wonder how that could impact the fight....

So many questions!! We shall find out tomorrow night in Vegas baby!!!

I'm getting goosebumps just writing all of this!!!

Leave some comments on your thoughts about this card!!!! Lets discuss.