UFC 290 event was headlined by a men’s featherweight title fight between Alex Volkanovski and Yair Rodriguez.
Alex Volkanovski (26-2 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since suffering a razor close decision loss to Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title back in February of this year. That controversial setback had snapped the Aussie’s incredible 22-fight win streak, which included four straight title defenses at featherweight.
Meanwhile, Yair Rodriguez (15-4 MMA) had captured the promotion‘s interim featherweight title by submitting Josh Emmett in the second-round at February’s UFC 284 event. ‘El Pantera’ entered tonight’s title unification bout having gone 4-1 over his past five fights overall, which included wins over Brian Ortega, The Korean Zombie and Jeremy Stephens.
Tonight’s UFC 290 main event proved to be another amazing performance from Alex Volkanovski. ‘The Great’ was able to utilize his wrestling in the early rounds to get off some heavy ground and pound. After blooding up ‘El Pantera’ on the canvas, the Aussie was able to drop Rodriguez with a right hand in round three. From there, he unleashed some nasty ground and pound which forced the referee to jump in and call the fight.
Official UFC 290 Result: Alex Volkanovski def. Yair Rodriguez via TKO in Round 3
Check out how the pros reacted to Alex Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez below:
Post-fight reactions to Alex Volkanovski defeating Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290:
Who would you like to see Volkanovski fight next following his TKO victory over Rodriguez this evening in Sin City?