"He could have taken more time" - New footage of Alexander Volkanovski 's lethal headbutt on Yair Rodriguez sparks controversy among fans
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski secured a spectacular fifth title defense against the ever-dangerous Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290. While both fighters started the bout strong, the Australian deployed his diverse skillset to seal a third-round TKO victory. However, an unfortunate headbutt incident somewhat marred Volkanovski's victory.
While 'El Pantera' chose to continue to fight soon after the bout was paused, many fans opined that the headbutt contributed to the Australian being able to knock the Mexican out. A recent slow-motion video tweeted by @MmaUnderdogs showed the moment more clearly. Fans expressed their reactions in the post's comments section.
WAS THIS A FRAUDULENT WIN?❓⁉️❔
I feel like we’re not talking about this headbutt enough…
Yair was still clearly rocked from this headbutt afterwards and barely took any time to recover. He got rocked by the next punch that landed. https://t.co/mHflLq2alc
One fan pointed out that Yair Rodriguez could've made use of the full five minutes to recover but didn't:
"Yair opted to come back so soon. He could have taken more time to recover, but chose not to."
@MmaUnderdogs Yair opted to come back so soon. He could have taken more time to recover, but chose not to.
Another fan opined that Alexander Volkanovski was already ahead, but the headbutt sealed the deal, stating:
"Volk was winning, but I think that kinda finished the fight."
One fan wrote:
"HE barely took any time to recover. Sounds like a him problem."
Another fan concurred, saying:
"That’s on Yair then he didn’t take enough time to recover."
One user opined:
"Don’t think it would have changed the outcome of that fight."
Another user pointed out:
"That’s on Yair for continuing to fight. Shorter fighters use sneaky head butts all the time. Cejudo was the master of it."
Georges St-Pierre crowns Alexander Volkanovski as the pound-for-pound king after Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez fight
It's safe to say that Alexander Volkanovski impressed many with his incredible performance against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 last weekend. The Australian managed to hold his own against a dangerous striker like 'El Pantera' to secure a third-round TKO.
Alexander Volkanovski vs Yair Rodriguez🔥
Greatest Featherweight Of All Time💯
https://t.co/JFZj98X6Sr
Among those heaping praise on 'The Great' was former two-division champion Georges St-Pierre. The Canadian UFC icon was awestruck with the featherweight champion's performance and claimed that the Australian reminded him of himself.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, St-Pierre weighed in on the Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez fight and stated:
"The way I see Alexander Volkanovski, he’s not a specialist. He’s very good everywhere. For me when I was fighting, that was my strength. I was not the best at something but I was good everywhere so I was able to become the perfectionist to my opponent. I think he is using a similar strategy.
St-Pierre continued:
"He’s one of my favorite fighters to watch. I love watching him, I think he’s the best right now. Probably the best active fighter, the best pound-for-pound right now."
Watch the full video here: