Cuban Yoel Romero has shaken off his weigh-in farce to beat American Luke Rockhold with a stunning TKO in their middleweight showdown at UFC 221 in Perth.
Romero won Sunday's bout in the third round with a powerful uppercut, but he had already been ruled ineligible for the interim middleweight belt after failing to make weight on Saturday.
Both fighters were taken to hospital after the bout at Perth Arena.
Rockhold looked heavily concussed after copping the knockout blow, while Romero limped off with what looked to be a serious leg injury.
If Romero's injury isn't serious, it's likely he'll be next in line to fight Australia's middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.
That fight could take place as early as June.
"It seems to make intuitive sense - the No.1 and No.2 competing," UFC senior vice president David Shaw said.
"If it were not for the mess up on the weight, he (Romero) would have had the interim belt.
"Rob can't fight for a few months. So there's a bit of time to figure out what's going to happen in the weight division."
Whittaker was initially meant to fight Rockhold in Perth on Sunday in what would have been his first title defence.
But when Whittaker contracted a staph infection and was forced to pull out in January, Romero stepped in on short notice.
Romero won a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in wrestling, but he did the damage in the ring with his fists on Sunday.
He knocked Rockhold to the ground with a swinging left punch in the third round, and he ended the contest a moment later with a powerful uppercut while the American sat stunned.
But Romero's weigh-in farce on Saturday took a lot of gloss off his win.
The 40-year-old initially weighed in at 188.3 pounds (85.4kg) but was given two more hours to meet the 185-pound limit.
Romero hit the sauna in a bid to lose the excess weight, but when he returned he weighed in at 187.7.
Whittaker, who contracted chicken pox after being bed-ridden with the staph infection, is set to be sidelined for several more months.
But when he does return, it's expected to be against Romero, who is the No.1 ranked middleweight challenger.
A crowd of 12,437 attended Sunday's fight.
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