At UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi, Islam Makhachev skillfully submitted Charles Oliveira to claim the lightweight title.
The 31-year-old Russian Makhachev defeated former champion Oliveira of Brazil in the second round with an arm triangle.
Makhachev followed in the footsteps of his coach and previous winner Khabib Nurmagomedov by capturing the title.
In the post-fight celebrations, Nurmagomedov, who retired in 2020, joyfully embraced Makhachev.
Following the fight, Makhachev was joined in the octagon by featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who according to UFC president Dana White is the next contender for the lightweight championship.
Aljamain Sterling defeated TJ Dillashaw in the second round of the co-main event to keep his bantamweight belt.
With the help of ground strikes, Sterling defeated former champion Dillashaw, who had heroically continued to fight despite having his shoulder dislocated in the opening round.
Oliveira, 33, entered the battle hoping to win back the title that had been taken away from him after he was unable to make weight for his fight with Justin Gaethje in May.
Despite being ineligible to defend his title that evening, Oliveira maintained his position as the lightweight champion by defeating Gaethje.
The Brazilian puts a claim to being one of the greatest lightweights of all time with 11 straight victories, a UFC record 19 finishes, and 16 submits.
However, in Makhachev of Dagestan, he met a rival who had just dominated contests to start his own 10-fight winning streak.
Makhachev has exhibited many traits of his coach, former lightweight champion Nurmagomedov, with his aggressive wrestling style crushing opponents.