Ilia Topuria stunned Alexander Volkanovski with a second-round knockout to win the featherweight title at UFC 298 in Anaheim, California.
Georgian-Spaniard Topuria, 27, floored Australia‘s Volkanovski with a crushing right hook to claim his maiden championship.
The win ended 35-year-old Volkanovski’s glittering featherweight reign of five title defences over four years.
“They say you can’t do it, but trust yourself, work hard,” said Topuria.
“Anything is possible. Look at me now.”
Victory at the Honda Centre extended Topuria’s unbeaten record to 15 fights and realised his potential as the world champion many pundits have predicted.
On the undercard, Irish welterweight Ian Machado Garry earned a split decision win over American Geoff Neal.
Machado Garry, 26, displayed a patient approach to out-strike Neal, 33, over three rounds and extend the unbeaten start to his career to 14 fights.
Following the event, it was announced that Brazil‘s Alex Pereira will defend his light-heavyweight title against American Jamahal Hill in the main event of UFC 300 in Las Vegas on 13 April.
Topuria backs up his words
Volkanovski was returning to the featherweight division after failing in his second attempt to capture Islam Makhachev’s lightweight belt in October.
Volkanovski took that bout on 11 days’ notice following an injury to former champion Charles Oliveira, but was knocked out by a head kick in the first round.
Some pundits had debated whether the defeat for Volkanovski, whom many regard to be the best UFC featherweight of all time, signalled the start of his decline as he enters the latter part of his career, with Volkanovski saying pre-fight he was using his doubters as motivation.
Topuria, meanwhile, came into the contest with a reputation as one of the most ferocious punchers in the division.
He had displayed unwavering confidence in the build-up to the bout, wearing a replica title, grabbing Volkanovski’s belt during a news conference and predicting an early knockout.
Volkanovski started the fight well, maintaining distance and peppering Topuria with kicks, but the challenger responded by displaying his power, landing a thudding leg kick which stumbled the champion.
Although Volkanovski was the slightly busier of the two, Topuria always carried danger with his power and he displayed it emphatically in the fourth minute of the second round.
After blitzing forward with a combination of punches which had Volkanovski backing up against the cage, Topuria landed a hook which sent him down in a heap.
Topuria raised his hands to his head in celebration, consoled a crestfallen Volkanovski, then draped himself in Georgian and Spanish colours and shared the moment with his family.
“I know my skills. I work so hard. I knew one day I’d be a UFC world champion,” said Topuria.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from if you know where you’re going. It’s much more important what’s in front of you.”
“It’s show time. It’s time to take the UFC to Spain. And Conor McGregor, I will be waiting for you in Spain.”
Machado Garry answers his critics
Machado Garry came into the contest with Neal after recovering from pneumonia, which forced his fight against Vicente Luque at UFC 296 in December to be cancelled.
The build-up to that bout was overshadowed by a wave of social media trolling of Machado Garry, after former middleweight champion Sean Strickland attacked his wife online.
Machado Garry was booed during fight week, and the jeers continued as he made his way towards the octagon.
But Machado Garry said he would use his critics as motivation, and his performance against Neal – at eighth in the UFC welterweight rankings, the toughest test of his 14-fight career – was an apt response.
Machado Garry spent large portions of the fight circling away from Neal, using his superior range to counter with an array of punches, kicks and knees.
Although Neal pushed forward throughout and found success in short bursts, he was unable to stamp his authority on the fight as Machado Garry nullified any grappling exchanges.
After the fight, Machado Garry called out American former interim champion Colby Covington.
“There’s one guy I want next and I’ve been saying his name all week. His name is Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington,” said Machado Garry.
“I want to retire you from the UFC Colby, anywhere, any time.
“You ain’t ready to deal with this speed and the undefeated prospect. I’m going to take you out and make you regret everything you’ve ever said.”
Elliott wins on UFC debut
British welterweight Oban Elliott made a winning start to his UFC career, beating Jamaica‘s Val Woodburn by unanimous decision.
Welshman Elliott, 26, who earned a contract via Dana White’s Contender Series last year, survived being wobbled by an early overhand right to out-strike and out-grapple Woodburn for the remainder of the fight.
Elliott, who earned the 10th win of his 12-fight career, paid tribute to former WWE wrestling Ric Flair in his post-fight interview, reiterating his catchphrase: “To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.”
In the co-main event, Australian former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker earned a unanimous decision victory over Brazil’s Paulo Costa, while American former two-weight champion Henry Cejudo suffered his second straight defeat as he was outpointed by Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili at bantamweight.
