Islam Makhachev confirmed himself as the undisputed lightweight champion of the world after beating Charles Oliveira by submission in the second round at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

The finish from Makhachev (23-1) came at 3:16 in the second round with an arm triangle choke, ending Oliveira's 11-fight win streak.

Makhachev celebrated with revered former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who lifted him into the air. The victory was Makhachev's fifth straight win by submission.

The Russian's ground game combined with his skill and physicality was where he was dominant, despite Oliveira being aggressive on the feet.

Makhachev took down Oliveira twice from three attempts in a fight that barely lasted eight minutes, with the Russian dictating most of it.

"I knew this wouldn't be an easy fight. This guy always pushes," said Makhachev, who was practically preordained as part of 'father's plan' as the heir to Nurmagomedov's throne by his late father Abdulmanap, who coached him until his death in 2020.

"I just want to say, this is my belt for coach Abdulmanap. Many years ago, he told me to train hard and you're going to be champion."

Makhachev's probable next fight will be against UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski, likely in February at UFC 284. Volkanovski, who was in attendance in Abu Dhabi, said "let's do it".

In the fight of the night, rising star Sean O'Malley defeated Petr Yan by a controversial split decision after three rounds in the bantamweight division. Yan completed six of 13 takedowns and had 97 strikes, but O'Malley's were more significant.

Aljamain Sterling retained the bantamweight title after beating former champion T.J. Dillashaw by TKO at 3:44 in the second round. Dillashaw was not aided by a first-round shoulder dislocation.

Dillashaw revealed after the fight he had popped his shoulder 20 times in training and UFC boss Dana White defended the decision to allow him to fight, when he said: "I had no idea. That's a problem. How could the Athletic Commission know if he doesn't tell us. It's not like he came in out of shape or looked injured... that's something he should have told us."

Israel Adesanya retained the UFC Middlewieght Championship with a fifth consecutive title defence, winning via unanimous decision over Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 on Saturday.

In an ultimately tentative fight, the judges awarded the Stylebender the win in a 49-46 49-46 50-45 contest, making it four out of his last five title defences to come via decision.

Largely in control since coming back to fight at middleweight, the 32-year-old immediately called out Alex Pereira, who Sean Strickland via knockout earlier in the night.

Pereira also knocked out Adesanya at GOH 7 in 2017, before the latter joined the UFC the next year, with Saturday's bouts setting up an enticing rematch.

"One thing I was looking forward to was facing Jared as an opponent, but the second thing I was looking forward to was John Crouch versus Eugene Bareman," he said post-fight.

"Two great coaches, two great teams, and I'll tell you one thing, they had an excellent game plan. It was really hard to get my follow-ups going because they had a good game plan.

"We know who's next, that Poatan [Pereira]. Trust me. The first time, I told you, it was an error on my part spamming right hands and that was in kickboxing. Like I said at the press conference, next time I put you on skates."

Cannonier was initially content to stand up with Adesanya, only making sporadic take-down attempts and opting instead to chip away with leg-kicks and wait for big strikes.

More than his unique striking, however, the Stylebender was particularly assertive in the opening two rounds, initiating the exchanges as well as changing up stances.

Cannonier taking the third made for tight closing two rounds, but Adesanya ultimately did not take on any significant damage over the fight.

Importantly, whenever Cannonier would look to force the issue, the reigning champion managed to tag the challenger to halt any progress and retain his title.

Volkanovski dominates Holloway for 12th straight UFC win

In the co-main event, Adesanya's team-mate Alexander Volkanovski reaffirmed his status as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC, retaining the Featherweight Championship in a unanimous decision over Max Holloway.

Each of the judges scored the fight 50-45 to Volkanovski but even that belied just how dominant the 33-year-old was over the five rounds, showing extraordinary precision, explosiveness and tactical nous.

While the second fight between the two was closer, Volkanovski neutralised Holloway's reach and height advantage this time, with timing, quickness and power in his striking - cutting Holloway up badly above his left eye in the first round.

Vokanovski lacked the final blow but was in control, claiming a 3-0 record over Holloway on the way to a 12th straight win in the UFC, a fourth title defence and a 25-1 record in professional MMA.

Alexander Volkanovski retained his UFC featherweight championship by defeating Jung Chan-sung via TKO in the fourth round at UFC 273 on Saturday.

The 33-year-old's record in the UFC improved to 11-0 with the impressive title defence, and it is his third consecutive win since winning the featherweight title.

Volkanovski's fight IQ was on full display from the outset and he was in control from the first round, staying patient with his striking and mixing up his targets.

With regards to potential opponents, now, the featherweight champion is confident against anyone.

"Everyone in my division, I've been saying it for a while, now," Volkanovski said. "Get your s*** together, earn that number one spot and you get it."

The Korean Zombie was cleanly tagged on three separate occasions by Volkanovski's left hook and could not manage to impact the champion's ability to both act and react as he felt his way through the fight.

The second round went on a similar tangent, with Jung particularly rattled midway through from a big right. The Zombie's legs got heavier as Volkanovski maintained a relentless pace, staying precise and patient with his striking.

Despite Jung growing more assertive in the third, he only just survived after another massive right hand late from Volkanovski, with the clock saving the Korean from the consequent ground and pound.

After a check to assess Jung's state at the end of the third, some more big strikes in the fourth led to referee Herb Dean stopping the fight within 45 seconds.

"Before this fight, all week, I said I'm on another level right now. I can't be stopped and I just showed you," Volkanovski said post-fight.

"He actually took a lot more than I wanted him to. I thought they could have stopped it earlier, I started feeling bad in there but that's the sport we're in."

Sterling stays the distance against Yan

In the co-main event, Aljamain Sterling claimed victory over Petr Yan in a controversial 48-47 47-48 48-47 split decision, to also retain his UFC Bantamweight Championship.

Both exhibited unorthodox striking but it was an overall different fight to their previous meeting at UFC 259, which Sterling won via DQ following Yan's illegal knee to the face.

The tension was prevalent throughout the rematch, with Sterling even smiling after he took Yan down for a second consecutive round in the third.

Sensing the momentum shift in the fight, Yan went on the offensive and neither could ultimately finish, but by that point Sterling had done enough to win on points.

Alex Volkanovski defended his featherweight belt after overcoming Brian Ortega in one of the most dramatic fights of the year at UFC 266.

Volkanovski withstood two submissions in a brutal showdown with Ortega in Las Vegas, where the Australian champion prevailed by unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-44) on Saturday.

Ortega (15-2) – largely outclassed – looked to be on the brink of victory after a mounted guillotine and then a triangle choke in the third round left Volkanovski in trouble at T-Mobile Arena.

But Volkanovski (23-1) silenced his critics, emerging from the jaws of defeat to celebrate his 10th consecutive win in the UFC.

"All you doubters, I'm going to prove you wrong time and time again," Volkanovski said in his post-fight interview.

"Bring it. About f****** time [you put respect on my name].

"Keep doubting me. I love it. I'll be underdog to the day I die."

Of the submission attempts, Volkanovski – who has not lost since May 2013 – said: "Some of them were pretty tight.

"For some reason I went to the ground with him. Obviously, he's good. ... I thought I was in his head and he came back even stronger."

Ortega added: "I thought it was done. That's what we trained for my entire camp. ... That little bastard is f****** tough as hell."

In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko completed her sixth straight title defence at the expense of Lauren Murphy.

Shevchenko (21-4) scored a devastating fourth-round TKO against Murphy in the flyweight title showdown.