Alexander Volkanovski has cemented his status as one of the greatest UFC Featherweights of all time with a dominant victory over Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290.
Going into the fight, Volkanovski was a heavy favourite and proved his price tag in the early stages of the fight with a trademark performance.
In a very timid first round, it was Volkanovski who took the early advantage with three takedowns whilst dominating the ground game.
It was much of the same in the second with Volkanovski playing it safe and continuing to control the action on the ground.
After another closely contested start to the Volkanovski took little time to finish the fight after a lethal straight jab in the middle of a Rodriguez combination.
With the contender stunned, the Australian went to work and took him down before laying into him on the ground and finishing the fight.
Volkanovski showed plenty of class to his opponent after the fight, telling him that he earned plenty of respect during the fight and that he forced him to up the intensity in training camp.
Post-fight, Volkanovski admitted he wants to move up to Lightweight and challenge for the title again but will have to get surgery on his arm first.
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Meanwhile, former Middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was left stunned as future title contender Dricus Du Plessis walked away with a second round knockout.
The South African looked comfortable throughout both rounds but was heavily tested by the Australian in the opening exchanges.
After a tight first round, Du Plessis dominated the second with a flurry of shots that dropped Whittaker and eventually forced the referee to stop the fight.
Du Plessis is now next in line for a title challenge against New Zealand’s Israel Adesanya with UFC 293 in Sydney touted as the likely event to host the middleweight contest.