Alexander Volkanovski is targeting another attempt at the UFC lightweight title after the Australian produced a dazzling performance to retain his featherweight crown with a knockout win over Yair Rodriguez on Saturday.
Headlining UFC 290 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, USA, Volkanovski stunned his Mexican opponent with a stunning right hand and followed it up with devastating ground strikes to end the fight with 41 seconds left in round three, before saying he planned to step up a division and claim a new crown.
"I still want that lightweight belt, I'm still coming for that, whoever's next," he said in a post-fight interview.
Volkanovski's previous attempt to add the lightweight title to his featherweight belt ended in a unanimous decision loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 in Abu Dhabi in February, but it appears there is no featherweight in the world who can threaten his dominance.
This was Volkanovski's fifth successful defence of that title and extended his professional MMA record to 26 wins against just two losses. The Australian has won every featherweight fight of his UFC career.
With Rodriguez enjoying considerable advantages in height and reach, Volkanovski was careful to stay out of range in the first round before taking the fight to the ground, where he controlled his opponent with relative ease.
Rodriguez had some success early in the second round with some lightning-fast kicks but he was rocked with a punch that allowed Volkanovski to take the fight back to the mat, where he opened a cut over the Mexican's eye with a vicious elbow.
Though he looked dangerous on the feet, Rodriguez had no answer when Volkanovski closed the distance, and a counter-right hook from the Australian signalled the beginning of the end as the fourth round reached its climax.
Sensing victory, Volkanovski poured forward, dumping Rodriguez on the canvas again and raining down blows before referee Herb Dean stopped the fight.
"You've got to expect the unexpected, that's Yair. Everyone who knows the game knows how dangerous he was," Volkanovski said, admitting that he had experienced some fear in the build-up to the contest.
"(But) a couple of days ago, mindset switch – I'm the champ, I'm the king of this division, no one was ever stopping me," Volkanovski said.
In the co-main event, Brazil's Alexandre Pantoja won a razor-thin split decision victory to dethrone Mexican Brandon Moreno and claim the flyweight crown after an epic five-round battle.
Earlier in the evening, former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler brought the curtain down on a pro career spanning more than two decades with a devastating left uppercut that secured him a first-round knockout of Niko Price in his final fight.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
AUSTRALIA%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3EPat%20Cummins%20(capt)%2C%20Scott%20Boland%2C%20Alex%20Carey%2C%20Cameron%20Green%2C%20Marcus%20Harris%2C%20Josh%20Hazlewood%2C%20Travis%20Head%2C%20Josh%20Inglis%2C%20Usman%20Khawaja%2C%20Marnus%20Labuschagne%2C%20Nathan%20Lyon%2C%20Mitchell%20Marsh%2C%20Todd%20Murphy%2C%20Matthew%20Renshaw%2C%20Steve%20Smith%2C%20Mitchell%20Starc%2C%20David%20Warner%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Men's football draw
Group A: UAE, Spain, South Africa, Jamaica
Group B: Bangladesh, Serbia, Korea
Group C: Bharat, Denmark, Kenya, USA
Group D: Oman, Austria, Rwanda
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
EVIL%20DEAD%20RISE
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WITHIN%20SAND
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
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Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
STAGE 4 RESULTS
1 Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 4:51:51
2 David Dekker (NED) Team Jumbo-Visma
3 Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal
4 Elia Viviani (ITA) Cofidis
5 Matteo Moschetti (ITA) Trek-Segafredo
General Classification
1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 12:50:21
2 Adam Yates (GBR) Teamn Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:43
3 Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:03
4 Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:43
5 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
SPEC%20SHEET
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.6 V6
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Power: 295bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: Dh155,000
On sale: now
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
