Alexander Volkanovski's win over Yair Rodriguez was made all the more impressive considering he needs surgery on his arm.

Volkanovski earned the fifth defense of his featherweight crown following a dominant third-round TKO victory over Rodriguez at UFC 290 last night.

Although he took Rodriguez to the ground the first two rounds as expected, Volkanovski also stood with the Mexican striker in the third round which is always a risky proposition.

That was evident with Rodriguez landing some big shots on the Aussie. However, Volkanovski ate them before landing a big right hook on Rodriguez that rocked the title challenger.

That was the beginning of the end as Volkanovski proceeded to take him down and ground and pound him before the referee eventually called an end to the contest.

Volkanovski later revealed he needed surgery on his arm which made the training camp “a bit of a struggle” for him.

“I’ll be completely honest with you, I need to get a little bit of surgery on my arm,” Volkanovski said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “Going through camp was a bit of a struggle but I was always going to turn up here and do my thing.”

Given the circumstances, the fact that Alexander Volkanovski even turned up, let alone stood on the feet against Rodriguez, makes his win even more impressive — especially when you consider how blocking Rodriguez's kicks could further aggravate his arm.

However, it was no problem for Volkanovski in the end, who is even willing to fight Islam Makhachev in a rematch in October once he goes under the knife.

“These people want extra time, and I'm telling you I need surgery and I'll probably turn up there in October,” Volkanovski said.