Main fight card:

Main event - Amanda Nunes v Julianna Pena - Nunes wins via unanimous decision

Co-main event - Brandon Moreno v Kai Kara-France - Moreno wins via third-round TKO

Sergei Pavlovich v Derrick Lewis - Pavlovich wins via first-round TKO

Alexandre Pantoja v Alex Perez - Pantoja wins via first-round submission

Magomed Ankalaev v Anthony Smith - Ankalaev wins via second-round TKO

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4:46pm - Utterly dominant display from Nunes to regain the bantamweight title, earning two 10-8 rounds on one scorecard. 

That will conclude today's updates. As always, thanks for joining us, fight fans. Click here for a full wrap.

Main event - Amanda Nunes v Julianna Pena - Nunes wins via unanimous decision

Round five - Kudos to Pena for hanging in here. This has been dominant for Nunes but Pena refuses to go away. Back to the mat, they go... Pena constantly searching for submissions. Massive shot from the top by Nunes. She has Pena's back now, locking up the rear-naked choke. Looks deep, but Pena somehow escapes. Torrid pace over five rounds from Nunes, what a brilliant bounce-back performance. Clean five-round sweep.

Round four - Nunes lands the takedown to open the round, posturing up and landing ground and pound. Pena grabs an arm, almost locks up the bar only for Nunes to spin out of danger. Nunes ends the round in top position. Gruelling round comes to an end. 4-0 Nunes.

Round three - Penas clinches, Nunes easily defends. The challenger looks extremely composed here, in total control. Pena refusing to back down but she's struggling to inflict any meaningful offence. Nunes in top mount now, landing elbows through Pena's guard. Pena bleeding profusely now, as the round closes. 3-0 Nunes.

Round two - Nunes drops Pena with a right hook! She lets Pena stand back up... then drops her again! Left hand is on the mark and back down goes Pena. This is getting ugly. She's back up quickly.

Round one - Nunes looking much more assured here already, Pena all too willing to eat her shots. Nunes doing damage with her kicks. Pena responds. First round in the bag for Nunes.

4:10pm - Can Julianna Pena shock the world again to retain her bantamweight title? We're about to find out.

Co-main event - Kai Kara-France v Brandon Moreno - Moreno wins via third-round TKO

Round three - Moreno loses his balance and Kara-France finds himself in top position, lands some big shots. Moreno now bleeding from a bad cut below his eye opened by a Kara-France elbow. KKF with a heavy leg kick, stings him with a left hand. The Kiwi is in a groove here in the third. Another crisp leg kick for KKF. Nails a left hand. Moreno with the one-two. Moreno with a devastating liver kick! KKF goes down! Moreno pounces and unleashes with shots to a covered-up Kara-France, this one is over.

Round two - Moreno back to the middle. Pumping his left jab effectively, Kara-France replies with a stinging leg kick. Moreno ducks the leg kick and shoots for the clinch. Kara-France pressed against the cage but defends well. They trade shots on the break. Moreno making Kara-France miss with his head movement. Moreno really timing the jab now. Moreno misses the high kick and Kara-France sweeps his leg, looks to pounce with shots but Moreno is out of the way quickly. Close round, probably Moreno's.

Round one - Here we go! Intense staredown before the glove tap. Kara-France takes the middle to start. 'Mexico!' chant cranks up. Moreno with a couple of jabs to set the tone. Kara-France responds, bit of redness above his eye already. Brief break for a low kick to Moreno's nether regions. Both guys tentative to initiate, both exceptional counter strikers. Leg kicks from Moreno, who has taken the middle. Lands another jab. Kara-France forward, sets up a left hand that lands clean. Moreno looks to grapple, Kara-France defends and moves off the cage. Moreno blitzes with a lead leg kick, lands a left hand. Moreno's round on my scorecard.

3:29pm - Buffer with some extra juice on these intros. Deafening cheers for the Mexican and a smattering of boos for the Kiwi, as you'd expect in Dallas.

3:25pm - The Mexican faithful explode as 'The Assassin Baby' makes his walk to the middle. Hard not to like this guy.

3:20pm - 'Poi E' drops at the American Airlines Center - that can only mean one thing, 'Don't Blink' is on the way.

3:15pm - Here's the one we've been waiting for team. Octagon entrances should be imminent.

Sergei Pavlovich v Derrick Lewis - Pavlovich wins via first-round TKO

3:12pm - With the benefit of replays, it appears Lewis was rising to his feet and many of Pavlovich's shots missed their mark. The Russian can barely be heard in his post-fight interview over the boos at the American Airlines Center. 

Round one - Pavlovich swarms from the opening bell, Lewis is wobbled! Lewis backtracking and eating a flurry of shots from the Russian. Referee steps in to call a halt to the bout, much to the disgust of Lewis and his home state fans. Either way, this one is over.

3:05pm - Huge pop for Texas' own Lewis, who has a deserved reputation for highlight reel heavyweight knockouts. He's looking to bounce back from his loss to Aussie Tai Tuivasa in his hometown of Houston back in February.

3pm - The heavyweights are up next, then it's 'Dont Blink' time.

Alexandre Pantoja v Alex Perez - Pantoja wins via first-round submission

2:55pm - Beautiful performance from Pantoja. Exploded out of the gates and finished the choke, despite not really being locked under the chin. Exceptional squeeze from the Brazilian. A great night to make a statement at flyweight. 

Round one - Pantoja comes out swinging! Incredible pace here early. Pantoja leaps and takes Perez's back, both hooks in. Perez standing but carrying the weight. Working for position with the rear naked choke... and forces the tap! Wow.

2:45pm - Intriguing clash here between two of flyweight's best. The outcome could well determine who claims second place in the queue for the belt.

2:35pm - A message of support from 'The Last Stylebender' for his teammate.

Magomed Ankalaev v Anthony Smith - Ankalaev wins via second-round TKO

2:36pm - Impressive win over a high-pedigree opponent for Ankalaev. A title shot seems imminent.

Round two - Smith pressing for a takedown, Ankalaev defends off the cage. Ankalaev works into a superior position but Smith clings on, hoping to drag him into a BJJ match.  Uh oh, Ankalaev moves to the back and unleashes a torrent of shots to Smith's head. Referee has seen enough. We are done here.

Smith immediately tells his corner his leg was broken. Seemed to have happened late in the first round.

Round one - Tentative start from both fighters, plenty of checked leg kicks both ways. The boos start to rain down at the American Airlines Center. Ankalaev blitzes with a head kick, puts together a lovely three-shot combo. Smith goes to the deck, turtles while eating taking sporadic leg kicks from above. That should be one down for the Dagestani.

2:20pm - Dagestan's Ankalaev has been tearing through the light heavyweight division. Is former contender Smith the man to halt his eight-fight win streak? I'd suggest not.

2:05pm - Fight fans, we are officially ready to rumble in the Lone Star state.

Magomed Ankalaev and Anthony Smith will get the pay-per-view portion of today's card underway shortly.

At an estimate, NZ's Kai Kara-France will be in action around the 4pm mark.

ICYMI - Kara-France's teammate Blood Diamond couldn't earn his first UFC win in the opening bout of the preliminary card.

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Kia ora and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of UFC 277, where Kiwi Kai Kara-France will be out to claim the interim flyweight title in his co-main event rematch against Brandon Moreno at Dallas, Texas.

In 2019, 'The Assassin Baby' got the better of the City Kickboxing sparkplug via unanimous decision but both men have improved considerably since. 

Sunday's bout is almost guaranteed to produce fireworks at the American Airlines Center, where a partisan crowd of Mexicans will be in Moreno's corner, as both fighters look to secure the belt and the chance to unify it against injured champion Deiveson Figueiredo.

The main event features another rematch, with Amanda Nunes trying to recapture her women's bantamweight title, after her upset defeat to Julianna Pena in December.

Join us for all of the action from 2pm (NZ time).

Fight card (with TAB betting odds to win):

Main event - Amanda Nunes ($1.35) v Julianna Pena ($3.10)

Co-main event - Brandon Moreno ($1.47) v Kai Kara-France ($2.60)

Sergei Pavlovich ($1.68) v Derrick Lewis ($2.15)

Alexandre Pantoja ($1.50) v Alex Perez ($2.50)

Magomed Ankalaev ($1.17) v Anthony Smith ($4.75)

Kai Kara-France eyes Kiwi combat sports immortality in interim world title clash against Brandon Moreno

Kiwi UFC juggernaut Kai Kara-France is preparing to celebrate a landmark moment in his 11-year professional career on Sunday (NZ time), when he takes to the Octagon for a rematch with Brandon Moreno in the co-main event of UFC 277 at Dallas with the interim flyweight championship at stake.

A lot of blood has passed under the bridge since the two last met in December 2019, when the Mexican had his hand-raised to claim a tight unanimous decision and hand Kara-France his first UFC loss.

Almost three years later, 'Don't Blink' is amid his most impressive streak to date, with three straight wins to his name - including a show-stealing first-round KO of former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt at UFC 269 in December.

With champion Deiveson Figueiredo on the shelf for an extended period with injuries to both hands suffered in his trilogy bout with Moreno in January, the UFC decided to implement an interim championship title bout - a means of keeping the top of the division active when a champion is waylaid.

In early 2019, Kara-France's City Kickboxing teammate Israel Adesanya went through the same process, when then-middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was shelved for an extended period with injury. He edged Kelvin Gastelum in an instant classic to secure the interim title, before defeating the Australian six months later to essentially unify the belts.

The UFC doesn't recognise interim titles as official championships, per se, but as far as Kara-France is concerned, he's taking on the best fighter in the division this weekend - when whoever prevails could rightfully claim to be king of the 125lbers (56.7kg).

After the pair had battled to a draw in their first bout, Moreno submitted Figureido in their rematch to be crowned flyweight champion. The Mexican then lost the belt back to the Brazilian after he was on the wrong end of a razor-close decision in a trilogy fight that many - including Kara-France - believe should have gone his way.

"I thought Brandon won the last fight [against Figueiredo], so in my eyes, I'm fighting the better fighter," he told Newshub.

"Even though this is an interim title, it's still a world title. So, I've just put my best foot forward and put everything into this. I've been visualising this since I was 10 years old. Since I walked into my first ever MMA gym. Here we are now, a few days out from fighting for a world title.

"I can't wait to go in there, represent New Zealand and bring another world title back to City Kickboxing."

Either way, Figureido will await whoever emerges victorious this weekend to determine the true flyweight champion, and Kara-France intends - once his hand is raised - to bring that unification bout down to action-starved Australasia.

The UFC hasn't held an event in the southern hemisphere since February 2020, when Dan Hooker pipped Paul Felder in a scintillating main event at Auckland, and there are whispers the promotion is eyeing an Australian event in early 2023.

"I'm obviously not looking past Brendon, but that's how I see things happening," he clarified. "Me winning on [Sunday] and then unifying against Figueiredo - hopefully in New Zealand or Australia and bringing a world title to the fans down here."

But first lies a significant obstacle in 'The Assassin Baby' Moreno. The 28-year-old Mexican's blend of charm, his perma-smile and his electric boxing have seen him shoot to bonafide cult hero status.

He became the first Mexican-born UFC champion with his victory over Figueiredo in June 2021, which propelled him to superstardom among his combat sports-mad compatriots.

He'll bring a rabid army of fans with him to the American Airlines Centre at Dallas, which has an enormous Mexican population, not to mention those who'll make the trek north of the border to support their newest hero.

The sensation will be unfamiliar for Kara-France, whose deserved reputation for delivering excitement has earned him the favour of every crowd he's appeared in front of.

But he's aware he'll be walking into a cauldron and insists he's ready to harness that energy for his own cause, including the boost provided by Patea Māori Club's Kiwi classic that's become his trademark entrance song.

"I'll be walking out to 'Poi E', so when I hear that music, it just reminds me who I'm representing and why I'm doing this," he said. "It brings me back to the present of just feeling at home, feeling comfortable and representing Aotearoa. 

"It's just a reminder to everyone back home that now it's a party and now that we're here, we're here to represent. 

"I'm fighting in hostile territory in Dallas, Texas, close to Mexico, I know everyone's going to be there to support him. I just welcome that. I welcome everyone going against me because I feed off it. I've always been the underdog, always been overlooked, always been underestimated and that's what I go and do. 

"I go out there and shock everyone and I won't be surprised when I catch him early and I put him away."

And Kara-France has plenty of reasons to feel confident heading into his sophomore showdown against Moreno.

While the decision didn't go his way the first time they met, he had plenty of success with his patented right hand, twice wobbling Moreno in the first round, before his opponent adjusted and gained the upper hand by adopting a suffocating high-pressure attack that nullified Kara-France's offence.

Both fighters have improved exponentially since they first met, and their rematch is almost guaranteed to deliver on its co-main event billing. Due to the interim title being on the line, this time around the pair will fight over five rounds, which should dramatically increase the chance of fireworks. It will also be the first time the Aucklander has competed in a five-rounder, should the contest get that far.

"In the first fight, he did well to adapt and edge a decision," recalled Kara-France. "This time I'll make it look easy. 

"Obviously, when you're fighting for titles and you both want it and you're both not backing down, sometimes you just have to bite down on your mouthpiece and start swinging. And I'll happily oblige if Brandon wants to do that and he wants to stay in my face and make this ugly, we can hopefully go there. So I'm ready to go wherever this fight goes. Five rounds or one round."

"I like the guy but I've got to respect my dreams and put my family first. And he wants everything I want, which is to be a world champion. So, I've got to take it to him. And that's what I plan on doing.

Becoming a husband and a father (to son, Cobi) has given Kara-France both a renewed sense of purpose and unwavering focus and determination, as the 29-year-old enters his prime.

He's seen that world champion standard set by teammates Israel Adesanya and Alex Volkanovski on a daily basis, and says he realises precisely what is required to achieve his lifelong dream and join the pantheon of NZ combat sports greats by bringing a third UFC belt back to City Kickboxing.

While he'll enter Sunday's fight as the betting underdog, growing up a victim of bullying - which first led him to taking up martial arts - has meant he's well-accustomed to overcoming the odds.

"I think that's why people can relate to my story and see where I've come from, you know, being bullied," he admitted. "That's how I started the sport.

"Now having a son and having a legacy that I want to instill into him… showcase what I've done in my career and what I've been able to do, which is persevere, push past the adversity and make it to the top and be the best in the world.

"If the fight turns into a dog fight and it's about who wants it more, I just don't see me taking a backwards step. I'll put everything into this, and I'll point down at the ground and swing. I'll swing until I can't move. And that's just where I'm at. 

"We're trying to showcase New Zealand combat sports and pave the way for the next generation. So my journey is about inspiring and showcasing that if you want to do this, and this is what you want to be, you can be UFC world champion."

Kara-France's City Kickboxing teammate Blood Diamond will also be in action on Sunday, when he'll be looking to bounce back from defeat in his UFC debut against Orion Cosce in the event's opening fight.

In the main event, Amanda Nunes is out to avenge her upset loss to Julianna Pena and regain her women's bantamweight crown.