Alexander Volkanovski leaves UFC in awe with powerhouse performance
The Aussie champion reaffirmed his stranglehold on the UFC's featherweight division at UFC 290.
Alexander Volkanovski has re-affirmed his place as king of the UFC's featherweight division, seeing off a challenge from interim champion Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 in Las Vegas. The 34-year-old resurrected what had otherwise been a brutal card for the other Aussie challengers fighting, with the likes of Robert Whittaker and Dan Hooker both going down earlier in the event.
Volkanovski secured the undisputed featherweight belt with an impressive round three TKO against Rodrigiez, forcing the Mexican fighter up against and pummelling him with several blows before throwing him to to the ground with an ferocious takedown. From there it was only a matter of time before referee Herb Dean called the fight, with Volkanovski raining down blows as his opponent desperately tried to defend himself.
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It had been a close affair in the previous two rounds, with many commentators putting Volkanovski slightly ahead on the scorecards before the Aussie champion brought the fight to an end four minutes into the third round. Rodriguez had secured the interim title in February at UFC 284 in Perth, where on the same card, Volkanovski challenged Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title but suffered a narrow decision loss.
Rodriguez impressed with a superb performance against Josh Emmett, submitting him with a triangle choke in the second round. That earned him the interim title and the shot at Volkanovski.
But Volkanovski proved Saturday the close loss to Makhachev only improved his game and picked apart Rodriguez from beginning to end.
“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 after the fight. "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.”
On social media, fans erupted over the comprehensive performance from the Aussie champ. The win lifted him to an overall record of 26-2.
He's a bad bad man
P4P best in the world
Feed him islam#UFC290 pic.twitter.com/eE8m3UhGZP— Paul 👑🇦🇺 (@PWarnie87) July 9, 2023
volk is so levels above everyone he fights, not even skillset wise just his fight IQ, mindset and preparation is crazy.
knowing when to wrestle vs when to strike against Yair on the fly was wild #UFC290— bradley (@OfficiallyZinq) July 9, 2023
Volk is so damn likable! Talks about how dangerous Yair is, how hard he trains, minimal trash talk but backs it up. Featherweight GOAT #UFC290
— SportsMike (@TheeRedVelvet) July 9, 2023
Pound for pound number one.
Alexander Volkanovski is at the peak of his powers and with Charles Oliveira saying he isn’t going to Abu Dhabi to face Makhachev in October then the only man for that job is the featherweight king.
Run it back.#UFC290— Adam Catterall (@AdamCatterall) July 9, 2023
Once Volkanovski caught him that counter he didn’t hesitate he went right to where he had edge, to ground. He’s so solid! #UFC290
— Teddy Atlas (@TeddyAtlasReal) July 9, 2023
Why the hell would any featherweight want to get into the cage with this man. He's a deadset freak. #UFC290
— James McKern (@jLmcKern) July 9, 2023
I’m not sure how many of HIM their are currently in MMA, but Alexander Volkanovski is one of them.
Volk is HIM. #UFC290 pic.twitter.com/N1qGY0nDft— Simon Samano (@SJSamano) July 9, 2023
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