Max Holloway celebrated a 10th consecutive win on Saturday night with a clinical stoppage of Anthony Pettis and was crowned interim featherweight champion in Toronto.
The Hawaiian native took full advantage of the opportunity afforded to him after Daniel Cormier's groin injury ruled him out the main event of UFC 206.
Cormier's light-heavyweight defence against Anthony Johnson will wait for another day and, in the meantime, we will be treated to an even more exciting bout in the featherweight division.
Holloway's win over the former lightweight champion now sees him in line for a lucrative unification fight against Jose Aldo.
The 25-year-old came into the fight on an incredible run of nine wins on the bounce, stretching as far back as 2013, and conjured punch perfect combination to stop Pettis in the third round.
#ANDNEW interim featherweight champion of the world... @BlessedMMA! What a performance. 🆠#UFC206 https://t.co/ncU4nfDMnZ
— BT Sport UFC (@btsportufc) December 11, 2016
The fact that Pettis missed weight on Friday morning, weighing in at 148lbs, meant that only one fighter could actually win the belt, a first for the UFC.
"I already had to give up Thanksgiving for this fight, I had to give up my birthday and it's hard to find the guy," Holloway said after the fight. "Like I said, 'Hashtag: Where's Jose Waldo.' Let me know when you find him.
"I don't want to give up my son's birthday and Christmas for February 11 and he don't show up, you know? This guy has a [habit] of not showing up to the fight. We'll see what happens."
The pair may now meet at UFC 208 this February. Jose Aldo was crowned full champion after winning the interim title at UFC 200 in July. Conor McGregor, the last man to beat Holloway, was stripped of his featherweight title after UFC 205, and the belt was given fully back to Aldo.
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