Paddy Pimblett sealed a brutal TKO win over Michael Chandler on the biggest night of his UFC career so far.
In front of US president Donald Trump, the Liverpudlian turned his American opponent into a bloody mess, before calling out Charles Oliveira for his next blockbuster bout.
Pimblett dominated the entire fight before sealing the stoppage with 03:07 left in round three of the five-rounder.
The 30-year-old lightweight has now taken his UFC record to 6-0, and once again proved his credentials to fight the very best the sport has to offer.
Pimblett’s win also lost Conor McGregor a huge amount of cash, after he lumped $500,000 on Chandler to win by KO.
Instead, it was Chandler who left the cage with blood pouring from a deep cut in his cheek, leaving him unable to see Pimblett’s hand get raised by the referee.
Chandler is a big Donald Trump fan and the president was in the arena to watch the bout
Paddy Pimblett has his arm raised by the referee after sealing a TKO win over Michael Chandler
A flying knee split Chandler’s cheek open and Pimblett created a bloody mess in the Octagon
Paddy the Baddy lands a punch on the nose of Chandler during their lightweight bout
In the opening round, the Englishman was immediately on top, despite Chandler taking him down early. It was in the second that Pimblett really began to dominate, punishing his opponent with brutal ground and pound.
In the third, a flying knee cut Chandler’s cheek open and Pimblett went to work opening it up, creating a bloody mess in the process.
In the end, the referee stepped in to call the fight to a halt, silencing many of the American fans in the arena in Miami.
When asked by Joe Rogan to reflect on how the victory unfolded in his post-fight interview, Pimblett said: ‘Everything I’ve worked on, that’s just happened here, we gameplan and use our fight IQ.
‘Anyone else got any questions? I want that world title, people said I would never be ranked, never be top 10. Dustin, Justin, Charles or posh by Tsarukyan. F*** Arman, he’s a little sausage.’
It was a brilliant precursor to the main event in which Alexander Volkanovski put on a masterclass to beat Diego Lopes.
The 35-year-old Australian bounced back from two heavy knockout defats to seize his old belt, which has been left vacant by Ilia Topuria’s move up to lightweight.
Lopes was the bigger, more powerful and aggressive man and it took all Volkanovski’s smarts and vast experience to come through.
He landed more frequently than his opponent but saw his best shots simply bounce off the chin.
The fourth round could have swung in Lopes’ direction. His glove sliced open the eyelid of Volkanovski, who immediately back-pedalled and had to dodge heavy artillery being thrown his way.
Alexander Volkanovski delivered a sensational performance to beat Diego Lopes
The Australian is the UFC featherweight champion once again having won in Miami
Trump and Elon Musk watch the main event at the Kaseya Center on Saturday night
He confirmed to his corner that he could not see out of it, making his composure even more impressive.
The judges all scored the contest in his favour – 48-47 49-46 49-46.
And afterwards, the clearly emotional champion said: ‘It’s good to be back! I’ve never felt the love so much, I was saying all week I promised my girls I’ll bring the belt back.
‘Coming off a couple of losses, come back and beat a gun in Lopes. Adversity is a privilege, this moment is incredible. I really appreciate you. It is an opportunity, build back and make yourself stronger, people will write books about this s***, Miami I love you!’
