Volkanovski dropped seasoned Japanese fighter Mizuto Hirota twice in the first round as he chased his seventh straight stoppage victory.

Hirota survived, but Volkanovski looked largely untroubled en route to a unanimous decision victory, with all three judges awarding him every round.

It leaves the former Warilla Gorillas front-rower undefeated at featherweight and riding a four-year run without a loss.

“I knew he was going to be tough so I knew I had to put him away,” Volkanovski said.

“I’ve had a rough couple of weeks battling some sickness and things like that so, while I wanted the finish, I didn’t want to burn out.”

He also used his post-fight interview to call out the division’s “bad boys.”

“I pride myself on being one of the good guys, I’m a nice guy, I’m a loyal guy,” he said.

“Everyone’s trying to play the bad guys nowadays. Everyone wants to be the bad boy, so I’ll ask [UFC president] Dana [White], feed me the bad boys. It’s about time the good guys made some money to so feed me the bad boys and feed me the [fight of the night bonus] 50 G’s while you’re at it.”

Volkanovksi’s victory was part of a mixed night for Australian fighters with Aussie Dan Kelly suffering a first round KO at the hands of Derek Brunson while Aussie-based Kiwi Mark Hunt earned a 4^th round TKO win over Derrick Lewis.