Robert Whittaker overcame a re-aggravated knee injury to claim Australia's first UFC title with a unanimous points win over Cuba's Yoel Romero in Las Vegas.
In front of 12,834 fans, Sydneysider Whittaker 26, earned a 48-47 decision on all three judges' cards to win the interim middleweight title.
New Zealand-born Whittaker, who has lived much of his life in Australia, ended the eight-fight, seven-year win streak of 40-year-old Romero, a freestyle wrestling silver medallist at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
The victory sets up a fight against England's regular UFC middleweight world champion Michael Bisping, whose injury paved the way for an interim title.
Romero controlled the early rounds, especially the second, when he took Whittaker down and later backed him up against the fence.
Whittaker gained control in the third as Romero hardly produced any offence
The Australian maintained the momentum through the last two rounds, though both clearly looked fatigued in the last, when Romero desperately tried to turn the fight around before Whittaker got him on the floor.
Whittaker, who has now won eight straight, revealed after the bout a first-round kick from Romero had re-injured the left knee he initially hurt in his camp leading up to the fight.
"I'd all but forgotten about it until he jumped up on it," Whittaker said.
"It put my game plan back a little bit for the first two rounds, I had to concede that and play little bit safer than usual."
Romero didn't complain about the decision and said he thought it was a close fight.
" I don't know how I went to the ground in that last minute of the round, but I really believe if that did not happen the result would have been different,," Romero said through an interpreter.
Bisping initially offered Whittaker just a few words of congratulations after the fight, before unleashing a tirade against the Australian, who refused to respond with anything other than respect.
"The fact you're standing there with that f****** belt on like your a champion makes me sick. You should be ashamed off yourself," Bisping said.
He was far more gracious later on.
"I respect you, of course I do. You're a great guy. You handle yourself with class," Bisping said.
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