Jon Jones beat Ciryl Gane to win the UFC heavyweight title and become a two-weight world champion at UFC 285 in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
The 35-year-old was making his heavyweight debut and his first appearance in the octagon for three years, but needed just two minutes to submit Gane and make history.
Jones forced his French opponent to tap from a guillotine choke in the opening round soon after taking the fight to the floor, sealing an emphatic victory and underlining his status as one of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport.
A former undisputed king of the light heavyweight division, Jones made the step up to heavyweight after three years out to take on an established heavyweight in Gane, who had already lost one world title bout in the past.
The title, which was left vacant after Francis Ngannou left the company, means that Jones becomes just the eighth person in UFC history to win world titles at two different weights.
The likes of Georges St-Pierre, Conor McGregor and BJ Penn have all managed the feat in the past, while Randy Couture and Daniel Cormier are the only men to have previously won both the light heavyweight and heavyweight titles.
Jones has now won all 16 of his title fights in the UFC, while his overall MMA record stands at 27 wins and just one defeat - a controversial disqualification in 2009 - from 29 fights.
Already regarded by many as the greatest of all time, Jones's latest win adds further weight to his claim for that crown, and he wasted no time in setting his sights on his next opponent, two-time former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, who was ringside for the bout.
"Stipe Miocic, I hope you're training. You're the greatest heavyweight of all time and I want you. I want you real bad," Jones said after his win.
Elsewhere at UFC 285, Alexa Grasso pulled off a stunning upset to choke out Valentina Shevchenko and win the flyweight title, becoming Mexico's first female UFC champion.
Shevchenko is widely regarded as the best flyweight in UFC history having not lost since 2017 and successfully defended her title seven times since winning it in 2018.
However, she was caught out while attempting a spinning back-kick in the fourth round as Grasso took her back and made her tap with a rear-naked choke.
Shavkat Rakhmonov maintained his perfect career record by submitting Geoff Neal in their welterweight bout, moving to 17-0, while Mateusz Gamrot beat Jalin Turner and Bo Nickal beat Jamie Pickett.
Barney Corkhill
