The UFC 248 co-main event will go down as one of the greatest fights in the history of combat sports.
Strawweight champion Weili Zhang defended her title against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a brutal five-round fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The two elite strikers engaged in a slugfest for the ages that left both wearing the battle scars of war after 25-minutes of bruising action.
Former champion Jedrzejczyk was unrecognisable post fight, after suffering a forehead hematoma midway through the third round.
But that didn't slow the Polish fighter down, as she continued to stand in the middle of the Octagon and go blow-for-blow with the Chinese champion.
After the epic encounter that veteran UFC commentator Joe Rogan described as "the best fight I've called in women's UFC history", both women were rushed to a local hospital to have their injuries assessed.
Zhang's face too wore the signs of war, while she also suffered serious damage to her feet and legs.
In the end, the champion prevailed via a razor-close split decision in a fight company president Dana White claimed was destined for the UFC Hall of Fame.
"She did a great job, I felt her punches," Jedrzejczyk said after the fight. "The swelling was bothering me.
"I felt it more and more, but we're good. Congrats champ, I'm very happy we gave a good fight."
Zhang was equally complimentary of her opponent, when speaking through a translator.
"I was pretty sure I got it," said Zhang. "It was a great performance.
"We are all martial artists here. We don't want trash talking, we want mutual respect."
Both warriors were discharged from hospital on Monday (NZ time).
