UFC 290: Alexander Volkanovski wins third-round UFC champ

UFC 290 delivered from start-to-finish, with the prelims producing a ton of action and excitement before things shifted to the main card and went up another level. From a rapid finish, a lightweight war and a new contender arriving at middleweight to a Fight of the Year battle that produced a new champion and a champion showing he's on another level, this was a magical night inside the Octagon.

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and interim champion Yair Rodriguez faced off Saturday to determine the undisputed title-holder at UFC 290 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Volkanovski closed the show with a dominant performance and finished Rodriguez in the third round with some nasty ground and pound to retain his title.

Rodriguez was the interim champion after Volkanovski temporarily moved up to lightweight, but the Australian left little doubt who was the better fighter in running his record to 26-2 in what was scheduled as a five-round bout.

In the co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja claimed the UFC flyweight title by defeating Brandon Moreno for the third time in his career. Pantoja earned the win by way of a split decision, with judges scoring it 48-47 twice in his favor, while one judge had an unusually wide 49-46 score for Moreno.

Before moving up, Volkanovski had won five title fights to make a strong argument as the best featherweight of all time. He also has been in the conversation for the top current pound-for-pound fighter, and Volkanovski is second in the UFC’s official rankings to Jon Jones.

One judge gave Moreno a 49-46 verdict, awarding him rounds two through five, while the other two judges gave it to Pantoja by a 48-47 margin, giving him rounds one, three and five.

"You talk about well-rounded," Volkanovski said. "I've shown I could grapple and wrestle and strike with the best of them. I'm coming for all the records. ... The sky is the limit."

B/R had it 49-46 in the direction of the new champion, giving him the first, third, fourth and fifth.

Rodriguez (15-4, 1 NC) won the interim title by beating Josh Emmett via second-round submission at UFC 284 in February. The fighter from Chihuahua, Mexico had won two in a row and three of four coming in. Rodriguez, 30, had only one loss since 2017 before Saturday.

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Sarah H

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