Alexander Volkanovski taps 11-time world champion for preparations ahead of UFC 290 title fight

Alexander Volkanovski believes that he has found the perfect training partner as he prepares to defend his featherweight championship against interim champion Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290.

Volkanovski uploaded a video to his YouTube channel, where he revealed that he had brought in 11-time Taekwondo and Karate world champion Carl van Roon for his training camp ahead of UFC 290. Carl van Roon, who has excellent kicks of his own, described Rodriguez's fighting style and what skills he brings to the octagon as:

"He's very tall and rangy, explosive, obviously fights switch from both stances very effectively...He's got some very dangerous kicks...We're doing some study and we're putting together some ideas where we could use Alex's strengths to mitigate what Rodriguez is bringing to the table." [0:36 - 1:02]

'The Great' complimented Van Roon for helping him prepare for his title defense against a elite striker like 'Panter.' He mentioned that it has been helpful to gain an understanding of the timing of his kicks as well as the reasoning for the situations when he will throw a certain kick, saying:

"Having Carl here was also obviously very important to this camp...He understands why, when, when is a good time to do 'em, and things like that. So getting someone that really has that knowledge and the capability of actually doing that...it's crucial, especially for this camp." [2:23 - 3:02]

It will be interesting to see what surprises Alexander Volkanovski could have in store for Rodriguez as he looks to bounce back from his loss to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

Check out the full video:

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When is Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez taking place?

Alexander Volkanovski and Yair Rodriguez are set to headline UFC 290, which is scheduled to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 8.

This particular date is fairly significant as the highly anticipated event will mark the culimination of the UFC's annual International Fight Week festivities, which includes autograph signings, a number of panels, and the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. 'Volk' will be making his fifth title defense against the interim champion, who is riding high and is fully confident that he can dethrone the champion.

The former TUF Latin America winner is riding a two-fight winning streak that includes a TKO win over Brian Ortega and an impressive submission win over Josh Emmett.