Tonight, we watch the UFC 290 live stream online to see a featherweight title unification plus a defense of the UFC Flyweight Championship. With a card like this, expectations are set high for next year's International Fight Week.
Date and Time: UFC 290 is today (Saturday, July 8)
UFC 290 main card: The main card starts at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT / 3 a.m. BST / 2 p.m. AEDT
Early prelims begin three hours earlier, at 6 p.m. ET, main prelims are at 8 p.m. ET.
UFC 290 main event time: Ring-walks are estimated for 12 a.m. ET / 9 p.m. PT / 5 a.m. BST / 4 p.m. AEDT — but they could always go on earlier.
Watch in the US — ESPN Plus
Watch in the UK — BT Sport Box Office
At the top of the UFC 290 card, Alexander Volkanovski stands in search of history, trying to define himself as the greatest his division has ever seen. This leg of his road to immortality is all about unifying the interim featherweight championship held by Jair Rodríguez with Volkanovski's. Islam Makhachev stands in the shadows, ready for a rematch were Volkanovski to win.
Before that, though, Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja will fight for the former's flyweight strap. Pantoja's beaten Moreno twice before, with a submission win in an exhibition fight in 2016 and a unanimous decision in 2018.
In breaking news, Josiah Harrell was pulled from the prelim card, after a prefight MRI found a brain disease known as moyamoya. This scratches his match against Jack Della Maddalena.
DraftKings has Volkanovski (-380) favored for the main event, with Rodriguez (+290) as the underdog — odds that have stood still since the middle of this past week. You'd have to bet $80 on a winning Volkanovski to win $100, while a $100 wager on a winning Rodriguez would net you $290.
The site lists Moreno (-190) for the favorite in the co-main, with Oliveira (+160) as a slighter underdog. Those odds have widened.
Here's everything you need to know about UFC 290 live streams:
UFC 290 live streams: Get the PPV and a whole year of ESPN Plus
You're going to need ESPN Plus to watch UFC 290 live streams — and all the upcoming numbered UFC PPVs — so let's talk about the best deal to make this happen.
You can get UFC 290 plus a year of ESPN Plus for $124.98, which is savings of $55 (ESPN Plus costs $99.99 per year and UFC 290 costs $79.99). This is one way to avoid that $5 price hike for UFC PPVs, which used to cost $74.99, at least for this fight.
The main prelim fights are on ABC, ESPN and ESPN Plus.
UFC 290 Early Prelim fights start at 6 p.m. ET on UFC FightPass, which is $9.99 per month.
Need ABC or ESPN? If you've already cut the cord and don't have a cable package? With the right pick from our best cable TV alternatives, you'll be able to watch all the prelims you want. ESPN and ABC are on two of the best streaming services: Fubo and Sling TV
ESPN is on Sling Orange, and ABC is on Sling Blue for select markets. Sling is $25 off for the first month. Fubo has ABC and ESPN in its entry-level package, which has a 7-day free trial.
Of course, you can also watch ESPN and ABC on the more expensive services, such as YouTube TV ($73 per month), Hulu + Live TV ($70 per month) and DirecTV Stream ($75 per month).
ABC, depending on your location, can be pulled down with some of the best TV antennas.
How to watch UFC 290 in the UK and Australia
UFC 290 is up late for fight fans in the U.K. and mid-day down under.
In the U.K., you'll start the main card at 3 a.m. BST, with Volkanovski vs. Rodríguez going on around 5 a.m. BST. It's live on BT Sport Box Office, where it costs £19.95. Prelims are on UFC Fight Pass.
Just a heads up, though, the UFC 290 live stream is not available via a web browser, but through apps on Now TV devices, PlayStations, Xbox, Apple TV and some Smart TVs.
In Australia, UFC 290's main card will go live on Sunday at 2 p.m. AEDT on Kayo, where it costs AU$54.95.
How to watch UFC 290 live streams in Canada
Our neighbors in the great white north will watch the early prelims on UFC Fight Pass, while the prelims are on TSN and RDS. UFC 290's main card is available on various providers, including BELL and Rogers.
UFC 290 fight card
Early prelims (6 p.m. ET) on ESPN Plus and UFC FightPass
- Tatsuro Taira vs. Edgar Cháirez - Catchweight (130 lb)
- Vitor Petrino vs. Marcin Prachnio - Light Heavyweight
- Cameron Saaiman vs. Terrence Mitchell - Bantamweight
- Shannon Ross vs. Jesús Santos Aguilar - Flyweight
- Kamuela Kirk vs. Esteban Ribovics - Lightweight
Prelims (8 p.m. ET) on ABC, ESPN Plus and ESPN
- Robbie Lawler vs. Niko Price - Welterweight
- Yazmin Jauregui vs. Denise Gomes - Women's Strawweight
- Jimmy Crute vs. Alonzo Menifield - Light Heavyweight
Main Card (10 p.m. ET) on ESPN Plus
- Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Yair Rodríguez (ic) - for the Undisputed UFC Featherweight Championship
- Brandon Moreno (c) vs. Alexandre Pantoja - for the UFC Flyweight Championship
- Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus du Plessis - a UFC Middleweight title eliminator
- Jalin Turner vs. Dan Hooker - Lightweight
- Bo Nickal vs. Val Woodburn - Middleweight
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