UFC 290: Alexander Volkanovski retains featherweight title with dominant third-round TKO of Yair Rodriguez

And just when Rodriguez looked to be opening up with his offense in the third round, Volkanovski flipped the switch. The featherweight world champion blasted Rodriguez with a counter right hook while Rodriguez was kicking. Sensing he had Rodriguez stunned, Volkanovski pummeled him with a knee to the head, delivered two crunching right hands to the ribcage, scored a big takedown and unleashed enough heavy-handed punches to get a lopsided third-round TKO.

The victory in the main event of UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night marked Volkanovski's fifth overall defense of the featherweight title as the 34-year-old bolstered his pound-for-pound status.

The dominant champ told Joe Rogan that he needs to get surgery on his arm but fully intends on chasing down the lightweight world championship when he returns.

Volkanovski went seven for 12 in takedowns against Rodriguez, muscling the challenger around the mat and unleashing hellish ground and pound for which "El Pantera" never quite had an answer for.

Once again, Volkanovski proves that there are levels to the featherweight division as he continuously widens the space between himself and the rest of the field.

Here's how the entire UFC 290 went.