His last two bouts dragged him into deep waters, but Alexander Volkanovski's defence of his title against Korean veteran Chan Sung Jung at UFC 273 on Sunday was a comparative frolic in the shallows.
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As the Wollongong slugger claimed all along, the 'Korean Zombie' just wasn't on his level from the get-go.
Sung Jung was on the mat three times in the opening round, twice from pinpoint shots and the third via takedown.
He was dropped, and badly, again in the second, with Volkanovski completing another two takedowns that left the famously granite-chinned Korean lucky to see out the round.
Volkanovski finished the third round with a straight right and a ground-and-pound flurry that left commentators calling for the fight to be stopped at the interval.
Referee Herb Dean took that decision out of the corner's hands 45 seconds into the fourth round, waving the fight off after Volkanovski landed another flurry.
The TKO victory earned a Performance of the Night bonus and was Volkanovski's first stoppage win since putting two-time contender Chad Mendes away in December 2018.
"I told you all week that I'm going to show I'm another level and you saw that, you saw that these guys can't touch me," Volkanovski said.
"I don't think anyone's ever done that to Zombie so it just shows I am on another level. Next time I get in there I'm going to be better again.
"He's tough, I'll give him that. I wanted it stopped after the third, I almost started feeling bad but that's the game.
"I've got a lot of respect for the guy. He's done great things in this sport, he's a legend of the sport, that's why he got the shot.
"I want him to home to his family and hopefully he doesn't take it too much to heart because I'm levels ahead of these guys.
"He can go out there and still be at the top, just not when he's standing across from me."
It begs the very real question - who is on his level?
Some might say Max Holloway, for whom Sung Jung was a replacement for Sunday's bout, though Volk is already 2-0 against the Hawaiian fan favourite.
Beyond that, New England slugger Calvin Kattar is the only top-five featherweight currently coming off a victory - a dismantling of Georgian striker Giga Chikadze.
Yair Rodriguez's lone fight in two years was a loss to Holloway in November last year.
Brit Arnold Allen (No. 6) is riding an 11-fight win streak, but the vanquished opposition doesn't yet make a compelling case for a title fight.
For his part, Volkanovski called on the 145-pound division to "get its shit together" and start making title claims.
"When I was chasing that title fight, I was doing everything, doing shit no one would do just so no one could take that number one spot from me," he said.
"No one's doing that [right now] and that pisses me off. I'm not just going to give guys who aren't earning that spot a shot just for the sake of it.
"I want No. 1 contenders, I've made that clear time and time again. There was a fight scheduled (with Holloway), it didn't happen, so we got a replacement.
"If these other guys are going to sit back and expect to have a title shot given to them and not fight other contenders, I'll fight other guys.
"I'm an easy champ to understand. Take that number one spot and you get that shot. If not, we're in a good position to move up."
The lack of genuine contenders could hasten a move up to lightweight where a mooted mega-bout with Irish star Conor McGregor would surely take place.
A shot at becoming a two weight champion against the winner of the bout between lightweight king Charles Oliviera and Justin Gaethjie in May.
"I'm in a position where I can do a couple of things," Volkanovski said.
"Obviously we want to biggest fights and [Holloway's] probably going to be the biggest fight [at featherweight]. We'll see if he wants it, if we want it, if the UFC wants it, and then we'll make that decision.
"If this division doesn't want to sort itself out, if they're all going to sit back and wait for shit, I'll go up and fight at lightweight.
"We'll see what happens in that lightweight title fight and maybe move up because I'm showing I'm levels ahead in this (featherweight) division."
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