Alexander Volkanovski dominates Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 with brutal TKO

Alexander Volkanovski dominated Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290, brutally defeating the Mexican by TKO in the third round of the main event in Las Vegas.

Considered one of the most technically gifted, unpredictable and dangerous fighters in the UFC, Rodriguez was fully thought through and well beaten by the man many consider to be the true pound-for-pound No. 1.

Jon Jones currently holds that honor, but Dana White and co might well consider it after Volkanovski’s final appearance at the T-Mobile Arena.

He admitted that he had a healthy fear of Rodriguez’s spectacular strike during training, but the challenger barely landed one of his flashy strikes.

Question mark kicks narrowly whizzed wide of target and he was unable to pay off the range advantage, succumbing to a barrage of ground and pound attacks after being stunned by a hard right hand.

The referee intervened when Rodriguez failed to fight back in the face of Volkanovski’s assault after a brilliant display

Rodriguez looked stunned as he lay bloodied and beaten on the canvas after being saved by the referee

Rodriguez grinned as he wobbled backward, acknowledging the clean blow but unable to put up much resistance.

Volkanovski marched forward, knelt head, dug to the body, then slammed his opponent to the mat with ease before pumping some shots to the ground to force the referee to wave it off.

The first round belonged to the champion. He had a considered look early on, but then secured a takedown, threatening a head and arm choke and landing on heavy ground and pound. It was back to the drawing board for Rodriguez, who had to keep it going.

Volkanovski found another takedown in the second and just leaned on Rodriguez, exhausting him. The Mexican’s corner kick told him to give it his all like there’s no tomorrow, but the champ was in full control and landed some really heavy elbows to cut open the challenger.

The devastating finish came in the third inning after some of Rodriguez’s best work when he found himself undone by a counter.

Afterwards, Volkanovski looked back: “There was a little fear in the camp, this week I flipped the switch, I am the champion and king of this division and no one will ever stop me.

“I knew he would change his stance and the right hook would be good, I know I could go anywhere. I’ve shown I can struggle and hit with the rest.

‘The sky is the limit. There are a few options, I need surgery on my arm, camp was a struggle, I will get that once I get home and fight again this year, I will crush Topuria and I still want that lightweight belt.”

The Mexican showed his striking ability, especially in the third, but it would be the round he would lose the fight

The featherweight champion threw his man to the ground and then quickly ended the fight

Volkanovski remains undefeated at featherweight and will likely face Ilia Topuria in his next defense

Indeed, Volkanovski and Topuria were squarely outside the octagon and the stage is now set for the Georgian to take another shot at the belt.

Elsewhere on the map, South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis caused a huge stir, holding off Robert Whittaker to play a title shot at Israel Adesanya.

Whittaker looked like his precise and dangerous self, but was undone by his opponent’s athleticism and strength, which few gave a chance.

Adesanya then entered the cage, appearing drunk, and yelled at Du Plessis, inciting a possible clash between the two men who had a lot to say about each other.

In the co-main event, Brandon Moreno lost his flyweight title to Alexandre Pantoja after one of the fights of the year. It lasted the full 25 minutes, with the Brazilian getting the nod via split decision.

He mastered the most important aspects of the fight and provided takedowns at critical moments to become the new champion in what will undoubtedly be the fight of the night.

Dricus Du Plessis landed some incredible shots to upset Robert Whittaker on the main card

The mighty South African has a shot at Israel Adesanya’s title, which will come later this year

Alexandre Pantoja won by decision over Brandon Moreno to claim the UFC flyweight title