UFC 290: Alexander Volkanovski picks apart Yair Rodriguez, retains title via 3rd-round TKO
LAS VEGAS — Alexander Volkanovski gave a reminder to those who may have doubted his greatness on Saturday by dismantling Yair Rodriguez in their bout for the featherweight championship in the main event of UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Volkanovski beat up Rodriguez thoroughly over two-plus rounds Saturday, out-striking, out-grappling, out-wrestling and outperforming Rodriguez in every area of the game.
He finished it at 4:19 of the third. He landed a right cross that appeared to hurt Rodriguez, who backed to the cage in trouble. Volkanovski quickly followed him and lifted him above his shoulders and slammed him to the mat.
At that point, it was just a matter of time. Referee Herb Dean stopped it to save Rodriguez from any more punishment.
Volkanovski was coming off an agonizingly close defeat to Islam Makhachev in February in a bid for Makhachev’s lightweight title. Many thought Volkanovski won and he has remained ahead of Makhachev in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings, just behind heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
If there was a thought that Volkanovski might not be motivated or somehow not on top of his game after that tough loss, he dispelled them quickly.
Rodriguez is a dangerous striker who has perhaps the best kicks in the UFC. And while he fired plenty at Volkanovski, the champion had a brilliant game plan and was never endangered by any of them.
“Whether I put that in my head from a mindset to make sure I prepared properly, I don't know. But today, this week, I flipped the switch," Volkanovski said. "I prepared how I did because of the man I respected. But a couple of days ago, my mindset switched. I'm the champ. I'm the king of this division. No one was ever stopping me, so this is where we come in and do our thing.”
Volkanovski kept Rodriguez on his back for long stretches of the fight and landed some good shots from the top.
By the time the second was over, Rodriguez looked like a beaten man.
Rodriguez had won the interim title in February by submitting Josh Emmett on the same card where Volkanovski was beaten by Makhachev. He looked superb in that bout, but Volkanovski has a way of taking away his opponent’s strengths.
Like long-time welterweight champion and Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre, Volkanovski can play it any way he needs to because he’s so well-rounded. And he is one of the smartest fighters in the game, too.
“You know, people talk about being well-rounded, [well] I've showed up for wrestling and I'm sure I could [grapple and] I'm sure I could strike with the best of them,” he said. “I'm really coming for all those all them records. I’m pretty close to taking off a few of those. I've got a lot of goals ahead, but hey, the sky’s the limit.
“I might be in this position right now, but I guarantee you I'll be in the gym next week busting my ass again.”
