Conor McGregor is set to renew his heated rivalry with Jose Aldo after the Brazilian won the interim UFC featherweight title at UFC 200 in Las Vegas.
The Dubliner stunned the then pound-for-pound king with a 13-second knockout victory at UFC 194 last December to claim the featherweight belt.
With McGregor yet to defend the title as he prepares for his welterweight rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 202, Aldo was pitted against fellow contender Frankie Edgar for the interim strap and got back to winning ways via a unanimous decision.
The fleet-footed Aldo put on a clinical display of counter-punching to outpoint the aggressive but ineffective Edgar.
The defeat put an end to Edgar's five-fight win streak that stretches back to his previous defeat by Aldo in February 2013, which also was a unanimous decision.
"Frankie's a great guy and I respect him, but I have one goal and that's to beat this guy," Aldo said of McGregor, sitting ringside for the event.
With Jon Jones pulled from the card after failing a doping test, the new main event saw Brazil's Amanda Nunes stun the mixed martial arts world with victory over Miesha Tate to claim the women's bantamweight title.
Nunes claimed a shocking first-round submission victory and despite its brevity, the fight at the sold-out T-Mobile Arena easily lived up to its billing as the main event.
Tate was rocked early by punches from strike specialist Nunes, who switched her attention to submission attempts when the fight went to the mat and quickly finished Tate with a rear naked choke after 3:16 of the first round.
It was the same submission Tate used to claim the title from Holly Holm in March, and the belt has now changed hands three times in nine months since Holm beat Ronda Rousey.
"Oh my God, 10 years of my life working for this moment! I feel amazing!" an elated Nunes said after being presented with the belt.
Popular former UFC heavyweight champion and current WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar returned to the octagon after a four-year absence to defeat knockout specialist Mark Hunt after three tough rounds.
“I haven’t had that much fun in a long time," the 39-year-old said after the fight. "I’m right back in the game.”
Light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier had been due to face Jones before the latter's removal from the card, and the American was instead pitted against former middleweight champ Anderson Silva, widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in the sport, who stepped in with two days' notice.
Former Olympic wrestler Cormier wasted no time taking the fight to the mat where he utilised his skills to dominate his 41-year-old Brazilian opponent on the way to a comfortable victory on the scorecards.
In the other heavyweight bout on the card, Cain Velasquez scored a TKO victory over Travis Browne, the referee calling a halt with just three seconds left in the first round.
