Australian martial artist, Alexander Volkanovski retained his featherweight title after knocking out Yair Rodriguez on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena.
Volkanovski, 34, surprised his Mexican opponent with a spectacular right hand and followed it up with devastating ground strikes to stop the fight with 41 seconds left in round three before announcing his intention to move up a division and seek a new title.
“I still want that lightweight belt; I’m still coming for that, whoever’s next,” he remarked after the bout.
His previous effort to add the lightweight title to his featherweight crown resulted in a unanimous decision loss to Islam Makhachev in February, but it appears that no featherweight in the world who can challenge his dominance at the moment as he made his fifth successful defence of that title.
With Rodriguez having significant height and reach advantages, Volkanovski stayed out of range in the opening round before taking the fight to the ground, where he easily controlled his Mexican opponent.
Rodriguez had some success with lightning-fast kicks early in the second round, but he was rocked with a punch, allowing Volkanovski to take the fight down to the mat and open a cut above the Mexican’s eye with a nasty elbow.
Rodriguez had no answer when Volkanovski closed the distance, and a counter-right hook from the Australian announced the finish as the fourth round reached its conclusion.
Volkanovski stormed forward, dropping Rodriguez again on the mat and showering heavy blows before referee Herb Dean called the bout off.
“You have to be prepared for the unexpected; that’s Yair.” “Everyone in the game knows how dangerous he was,” Volkanovski admitted.
“But a couple of days ago, my mindset switched—I’m the champ, I’m the king of this division, and no one was ever stopping me,” Volkanovski said.
