Dricus du Plessis defended his middleweight crown after choking archrival Israel Adesanya into submission during their gruelling contest at UFC 305 in Perth.
But while Adesanya lost, fellow New Zealanders Kai Kara-France and Dan Hooker won their earlier fights.
In a bout in which both fighters went all out, du Plessis landed some huge blows late in the fourth round on Sunday to turn the contest in his favour.
A left hook stunned Adesanya, before three rights helped bring him to ground.
Du Plessis then rolled Adesanya over and put on a rear naked choke, with the New Zealander tapping out seconds later.
"This man is the king of getting back up," du Plessis said of Adesanya, who was bidding to become a middleweight champion for the third time.
"I'm still alive, that's a bonus.
"I came here to die for this belt and to take a life. I'm still champion, baby."
Adesanya said he was disappointed to lose.
"I knew it was going to be tough. I was cracking him," Adesanya said.
"I was quite strong in there. I felt able to resist his takedowns.
"I just make a stupid, dumb mistake on the ground."
And as for the future?
"This is the best I've ever felt. I'm 35, I'm doing the right things. I'm not ... leaving," Adesanya said.
Adesanya and du Plessis had made it clear over the past few months they didn't like each other.
Du Plessis' comment about being the first real African champion, given he was born, bred and still resides in South Africa, riled Nigerian-born Adesanya.
The tension hit fever pitch on the eve of the fight when du Plessis, in response to Adesanya saying he'd take the belt back to Africa if he won, asked whether he would take his servants with him.
The tears flowed from Adesanya after that as he detailed the struggles he and his family endured growing up, before stating: "I can cry and whoop your ass at the same time. On Sunday, I'm going to f***ing kill your dreams."
Du Plessis paid tribute to Adesanya after Sunday's epic fight.
"To share this octagon with a legend, a 100 per cent hall of famer," du Plessis said.
"This man has done so much for this sport.
"I'm sorry that it came across that I disrespected him.
To share this cage with a legend like that, I have the utmost respect for him, warrior to warrior."
The pair didn't touch gloves to start the bout, given their animosity.
Adesanya landed a series of powerful kicks in the opening round, but du Plessis worked his way back with some damaging jabs.
Du Plessis offered his glove at the end of the round, but Adesanya turned away.
Adesanya was taken down early in the second round as du Plessis attempted to choke his rival into submission.
The New Zealander was able to wriggle his way out of trouble before landing a series of powerful blows.
Round three was a slugfest as both fighters launched desperate bids to land a knockout blow.
A reverse elbow from Adesanya got the crowd going, but du Plessis was able to reply with a series of huge punches.
Du Plessis' accuracy with his punches in the fourth round opened the door for him to take Adesanya to ground again and finish the job.
Australian Steve Erceg faces a longer path back to a flyweight title bout after suffering a first-round knockout defeat to Kara-France at UFC 305 in Perth.
Erceg came close to winning the flyweight title in May when he pushed champion Alexandre Pantoja all the way in a five-round epic in Brazil.
That was only Erceg's fourth UFC fight in what marked a meteoric start to his career in the big league.
But the 29-year-old was no match for No 4-ranked challenger Kara-France at a sold-out RAC Arena on Sunday.
Erceg was floored by a right-left combo from Kara-France with 66 seconds remaining in the first round.
Kara-France landed some more blows while his opponent was on the mat, and a powerful right punch dropped Erceg just seconds after the West Australian had gotten to his feet.
The referee rushed in to stop the bout, handing Kara-France the technical knockout.
Sunday's bout marked Kara-France's first fight in 14 months, given the New Zealander was forced to take an extended break to heal from concussion.
"Hats off to Steve. He's a gentleman, he's the man," Kara-France said.
"I had to set it up, he's smart. And then I went in for the finish.
"This is the statement I was talking about. I wanted my actions to be my voice.
"A year ago I had to take time away, to re-evaluate.
"But it's the best thing in the world, kickboxing. This is what we love, this is what we do best."
New Zealander Dan Hooker scored an upset split-decision victory over the No 5-ranked lightweight challenger Mateusz Gamrot.
- Additional reporting by 1News
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