Alexander Volkanovski of Australia made sure he would be keeping the UFC featherweight crown as he dominated Yair Rodriguez of Mexico at UFC 290 in Las Vegas late Saturday night.
The TKO came at 4:19 of the third round and ran Volkanovski's record to 26-2. The 34-year-old was coming off a failed quest to land the lightweight title. He lost to Islam Makhachev in a unanimous decision in February in UFC 284.
Rodriguez, 30, fell to 16-4 with one no-contest. He won his last fight, defeating Josh Emmett in a featherweight co-main, also at UFC 284.
Volkanovski finished with seven takedowns to none for Rodriguez, and also dominated in total strikes (149-57) and significant strikes (66-40).
In the co-main battle of flyweights, Alexandre Pantoja of Brazil took a split-decision win over Mexico's Brandon Moreno. Pantoja improved to 26-5, while Moreno fell to 21-7-2.
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