LAS VEGAS — Yair Rodriguez had his best moment of the fight, landing a grazing right head kick that snapped Alexander Volkanovski's head back, then following with a combination, including a left that landed flush to Volkanovski's jaw.
Volkanovski nodded his head in acknowledgment of the blows. Then, he delivered a bruising right hook of his own that hurt Rodriguez badly.
Volkanovski went in for the takedown and fired off a barrage of big punches from top position en route to a TKO at 4:19 of the third round Saturday in the main event of UFC 290 here at T-Mobile Arena.
With the victory, Volkanovski retained the UFC featherweight title. Rodriguez came in as the interim featherweight champion. «I'm the king of this division,» Volkanovski said in his postfight interview in the Octagon. «No one is ever stopping me.» Before UFC 290, ESPN had Volkanovski tied for No.