Nemesis Alex Pereira has brought an end to Kiwi Israel Adesanya's reign atop the middleweight division with a dramatic late TKO upset win at UFC 281 at New York City.
With a 3-1 advantage in rounds heading into the final stanza, 'The Last Stylebender' was just two minutes away from closing out his sixth title defence.
But Pereira had other ideas, unleashing a savage late salvo of strikes, wobbling Adesanya with a left hook, and punctuating it with an uppercut and a series of follow-up shots to force referee Marc Goddard to intervene, capping one of the most memorable title fights in the division's history.
Adesanya immediately protested the stoppage, believing he should have been afforded more time to work to safety, but it seemed only more danger was forthcoming.
The result adds another chapter to the saga between the pair, with Pereira now defeating Adesanya in three fights, dating back to their days under the Glory Kickboxing banner.
He's still the only fighter to have finished Adesanya through the City Kickboxing product's entire career - only now he's done it twice.
Adesanya entered Sunday's grudge match comfortably favoured to pull one back on his foil. Instead, history almost repeated itself, replicating that 2017 night in Sao Paulo, when he'd been on track to win before being sent prone to the mat in the final round - a blow replayed countless times in the build up to today's main event.
Living up to his moniker 'Poatan' - Portuguese for 'Hands of Stone' - the victory caps a remarkable rise for Pereira, capturing a UFC belt in just his fourth Octagon appearance.
The defeat ends Adesanya's staggering 12-fight undefeated streak at 185lb (84kg), leaving him agonisingly shy of Brazilian legend Anderson Silva's mark of 13. It also put paid to his designs on chasing down Silva's record of 10 title defences at the weight class... at least, for now.
Given his dominance over the past three years, he's essentially guaranteed an immediate rematch with the new champion. His record now sits at 23-2, with his only other loss against Jan Blachowicz in his bid to become light heavyweight champion early last year.
The Aucklander began the stronger of the two, finding his rhythm - especially with his kicks - earlier than his counterpart, who looked significantly larger than the tale of the tape suggested.
As the buzzer for the end of the opening round sounded, Adesanya caught Pereira flush with a right hand, followed by a left hook that wobbled the Brazilian, who was saved by the bell in eerily similar fashion to Robert Whittaker in their original 2019 title fight at Melbourne.
That day, Adesanya put the finishing touches in the second round, but Pereira was undeterred, remaining aggressive to square the ledger with some efficient work in the clinch and a late double-leg takedown.
Adesanya responded by reaching into his rarely seen grappling bag, controlling Pereira against the cage, threatening with a rear-naked choke and landing the first takedown of his UFC career.
That theme continued in the fourth round, when Pereira's striking output slowed considerably, due to the exhausting effects of defending Adesanya's grappling advances, as the Kiwi's experience seemed to come to the fore in the championship rounds.
Realising Pereira needed to finish the fight to avoid the judges' scorecards, his corner implored him to lay it all on the line in the final round and he responded to their plea emphatically.
Dialling up his intensity, Pereira advanced, throwing Adesanya off balance with one particularly heavy legkick he'd attempted to check, setting the stage for the killer blows that sent the Madison Square Garden crowd into raptures.
The result took City Kickboxing's record to 2-2 overall on the day, after impressive finishes for Dan Hooker over Claudio Puelles and Carlos Ulberg against Nicolae Negumereanu, while Brad Riddell fell to a submission defeat to Renato Moicano.
A belt also changed hands in the co-main event, when Zhang Weili submitted Carla Esparza to win the women's starwweight title for a second time.
Lightweights Dustin Porier and Michael Chandler delivered on the promise of their mouthwatering matchup, delivering a breathless three rounds of back and forth action, before Poirier sunk in the winning choke.
