Alexander Volkanovski retained his UFC featherweight title at UFC 266 after a thrilling five-round battle with rival Brian Ortega in Las Vegas.
Australia's Volkanovski, 32, made a strong start through the opening two rounds of their title fight at the T-Mobile Arena.
But American Ortega, 30, turned the tables midway through round three when he dropped the champion with a big left hand then looked to chase for a submission.
Remarkably, Volkanovski managed to firstly escape a mounted guillotine choke then Ortega's best submission, a triangle choke, before hammering the challenger with ground strikes to finish the round.
After Ortega received a lengthy inspection from the doctor between rounds the fight was allowed to continue into the fourth round.
Ortega managed to take the action to the canvas once again early in the round but, despite locking up another choke, Volkanovski gave a thumbs-up to referee Herb Dean before escaping and resuming his striking onslaught on the ground.
The fight surprisingly made it all the way to the judges' scorecards after the pair traded back and forth on the feet in a thrilling final frame.
But when the scores were totalled, it was the champion who came out the clear winner with scores of 49-46 50-45 50-44 as Volkanovski retained his title via unanimous decision.
"I'm a normal human being. I've said it time and time again. Just hard work got me to where I am," said Volkanovski, who extended his winning streak to 20 fights, with his last 10 victories coming in the UFC.
"All them doubters, I'm going to keep proving you wrong time and time again. Bring it!"
Shevchenko matches Rousey record with dominant display
In the night's co-main event, UFC women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko equalled Ronda Rousey's record for consecutive UFC title defences by a female fighter by retaining her crown for a sixth time.
Kyrgyzstan's Shevchenko, 33, finished American challenger Lauren Murphy via fourth-round TKO after showcasing her superiority across all facets of MMA.
Shevchenko comprehensively outstruck Murphy, 38, on the feet then dominated her on the ground through the first three rounds of their title fight.
Then, in the fourth round, 'Bullet' found her target as she wobbled Murphy with a big right hand and followed up with a rapid-fire combination before eventually taking her to the mat and finishing the fight with ground strikes.
It gave Shevchenko the 22nd win of her MMA career and matched former bantamweight champion and UFC Hall of Famer Rousey's record in the process.
"It feels amazing, it's the best feeling," said Shevchenko.
"For people to say they don't believe in martial arts, you are wrong, because martial arts is everything.
"I'm ready for anyone. I always say I'm ready for anyone, no matter what weight class, no matter anything. I am ready. I am here. I am the champion."
Lawler and Diaz turn back the clock
MMA legend Nick Diaz's return to the UFC octagon ended in a TKO defeat as he was finished in the third round by old rival Robbie Lawler.
Lawler was knocked out with a check hook by Diaz in their first meeting 17 years ago at UFC 47.
But in the rematch, former UFC welterweight champion Lawler, 39, turned the tables and dropped former Strikeforce champion Diaz, 38, with a check hook of his own early in the third round.
The punch sent Diaz down onto one knee but, after Lawler backed away and motioned for his opponent to get back up to continue on the feet, Diaz told referee Jason Herzog he was unable to fight on and the official waved off the bout 44 seconds into the round.
It meant Lawler claimed victory and ended a four-fight losing streak in the process.
After extending his perfect record in rematches to 5-0, Lawler paid tribute to Diaz, who made his return to the cage after more than six years away from the sport.
"I've always had respect for Diaz. He brings it every time he steps in the ring. He's a hell of a fighter," said Lawler.
"He came to battle. He put on a hell of a show. I really appreciate him.
"The one thing about this camp, he actually got me going, which was nice. I thanked him after the fight for forcing me to get out there and push myself and it's because of him."
Diaz said he was happy to have given the fans something to remember, saying, "I'm glad I at least put on the show.
"I don't have no excuses. I had a long time off and I knew I had it coming."
Blaydes grinds down Rozenstruik
Also on the main card, heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes used his wrestling to grind out a unanimous decision victory over Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Blaydes, 30, secured a big takedown in each round as he dominated the action on the mat to earn scores of 30-27 on all three scorecards.
His victory did not come without a price, however, as Blaydes finished the fight with his right eye almost completely closed after taking a huge flying knee from 'Bigi Boy' in the second round.
Andrade shows championship quality
Earlier in the night, former women's strawweight champion Jessica Andrade overwhelmed Cynthia Calvillo with strikes to claim a first-round TKO victory.
Andrade, who was celebrating her 30th birthday on fight night, lost to flyweight champion Shevchenko in her previous outing, but bounced back by becoming the first fighter to finish Calvillo inside the octagon by claiming the stoppage victory with six seconds remaining in the round.
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