UFC 290 takes place Saturday night in Las Vegas for International Fight Week with a number of intriguing matchups on the main card. In the headliner, we have Alexander Volkanovski battling Yair Rodriguez in a featherweight title unification fight. The co-main event, meanwhile, features a flyweight title fight as Brandon Moreno defends his crown and looks to earn revenge against Alexandre Pantoja. Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is also in action as he takes on rising contender Dricus du Plessis.

With a number of other fights on the card, here are five of the biggest questions leading up to UFC 290.

1. Will Alexander Volkanovski grapple against Yair Rodriguez?

The big question with the main event is what game plan Volkanovski will use. The Aussie is regarded by many as the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world and is adept across virtually all martial arts. So will he choose to strike with the explosive kickboxing of Rodriguez or look to take him to the ground and finish him there?

And with that question comes another one for Rodriguez — will he be able to stop the takedown if Volkanovski does indeed grapple with him and can he trouble the champion off his back? The Mexican star's only TKO defeat in the UFC came against a wrestler in Frankie Edgar and while Rodriguez is a much better fighter since that setback, he hasn't really faced a similar top level grappler who can take him down.

2. Will Brandon Moreno get a rematch if he loses?

In what is a rare occurrence, the champion in Moreno will defend his title against a challenger in Pantoja who has already defeated him twice. Pantoja — winner of four of his last five — first defeated Moreno with a submission in an exhibition match during The Ultimate Fighter back in 2016. He would also outpoint Moreno at a Fight Night event two years later in 2018. Even if only one of the defeats was at a professional level, the simple fact is Moreno has two losses to the same fighter.

If Pantoja defeats Moreno again in a close contest, it's very possible we could see a title rematch (which also serves as a trilogy fight) even though some would be against it. But what if it's a definitive win with a submission or knockout? Would the UFC give Moreno a rematch given his standing in the division or move on and add some fresh blood in the flyweight title picture? It's an interesting question and if the answer is the latter, that means we could end up seeing a flyweight title fight without Moreno for the first time since Nov. 2020.

3. Can Dricus du Plessis shock the world at UFC 290?

Dricus du Plessis will look to not only earn the biggest win of his career against Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, but also set up an eagerly-awaited middleweight title clash with Israel Adesanya at UFC 293. The problem is, it's extremely hard to see Du Plessis getting past Whittaker. Other than maybe knockout power at the least, Whittaker is better than him in virtually every department. The oddsmakers don't see “The Reaper” losing and even Adesanya himself is manifesting a win for Du Plessis.

It seems crazy to say a fighter has no chance — especially one that still remains undefeated in the UFC — but such is the nature of Du Plessis' wins and his overall reckless fight style that it's hard to give him a shot. If he does manage to topple Whittaker, there's no doubt as to who deserves the next shot.

4. Can Dan Hooker still hang with ranked lightweights?

Dan Hooker returned to the win column with a TKO win over Claudio Puelles in November last year. However, Puelles didn't put in the best performance by any means as he was booed during the fight. Basically, it was a much-needed win for Hooker, but not an impressive one by any means. Prior to that, he had lost four of his last five with his only win coming against an unranked Nasrat Haqparast.

In Jalin Turner, he not only faces a ranked lightweight again, but 6'3” fighter with a considerable size advantage. If Hooker loses — and takes plenty of damage along the way — it might be time for him to stop fighting ranked opponents. However, if he makes it two wins in a row, there still might be a future for Hooker among the ranked 155-pounders.

5. Can Bo Nickal continue his impressive run?

Bo Nickal will look to go 2-0 in the UFC and 5-0 overall when he takes on Tresean Gore in the main card opener. If we're being honest, we should all acknowledge that Gore — who has a 5-2 professional record — is a tailor-picked opponent for Nickal to continue building experience and racking up the wins.

So with that said, the question is not if Nickal can continue winning, but doing so in impressive fashion. All four of his career wins have come by finish with none of them going beyond three minutes. While it's good to have the experience of three rounds, Nickal will only be expected to have a better performance in each new outing. And so, the big question is can he do just that.