Stipe Miocic has defended his heavyweight title against Daniel Cormier for the second consecutive time to claim the honours in one of the sport's greatest all-time trilogies at UFC 252 in Las Vegas.
In the most highly anticipated bout in the division's history, Miocic was awarded victory on all three judges' scorecards (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) after five-rounds of warfare that proved a fitting conclusion to their long-standing rivalry.
Miocic's triumph arguably seals his standing as the best heavyweight to ever grace the Octagon, while sending Cormier into retirement on a sour note.
One of only four dual-division champions in UFC history, 'DC' will now lay claim to the second-best fighter in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, after Jon Jones and Miocic respectively.
After a strong start from Cormier, who gained an edge in the opening exchanges with his striking, Miocic began to find his range in the second round.
Miocic dropped Cormier to the mat with a pair of stinging right hooks late, but was unable to deliver the decisive blow in the ensuing mount, as the round wound to a merciful end for Cormier.
The moment was ultimately decisive. While Cormier managed to remain in the contest, he never quite recovered, and Miocic was able to implement an effective clinch-based offence that gave him the upper hand in the later rounds.
Miocic's chin was still forced to endure plenty of heavy shots from Cormier, but his control of the Octagon and his grappling likely swung the ledger in the judges' eyes.
In other results, Marlon Vera derailed the Sean O'Malley hype train with a first-round TKO win, while rising heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik got back on track with a decisive knockout of veteran Brazilian Junior Dos Santos.
