Grappler extraordinaire Ben Askren's career swansong was orchestrated to perfection at ONE Championship: Immortal Pursuit at Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday night.
The American stormed to a TKO victory before the first minute mark of his retirement bout against Japanese icon Shinya Aoki in the evening's main event to ensure his record remains unblemished.
"Funky" manhandled the Japanese fighter - who normally plies his trade at lightweight - from the outset before raining down a flurry of heavy shots from above and forcing the referee to put a stop to proceedings.
The 34-year-old steps off the stage with a final professional record of 18-0, vacating the welterweight title after a reign of dominance the likes of which the organisation has never seen before.
"I am number one, I know I'm number one," Askren said immediately following his win.
He offered up a solitary out-clause from his impending retirement - the opportunity to cement himself as the undisputed king of the welterweight world against the best from the west.
"Other than that, I'm out."
However, with the UFC's current champion his long-time college friend Tyron Woodley a no-go zone, it seems unlikely he'll be back inside the cage anytime soon.
In the co-main event of the evening, Singapore native Amir Khan struck his way to a convincing unanimous decision victory against veteran Australian Adrian Pang.
The Evolve MMA-product used his length to excellent effect, controlling the range and picking the Queenslander apart from the outside. Pang struggled to close the distance and was at times forced to resort to some wild swinging forays.
He did have some success in the grappling department with a pair of takedowns but as the fight wore on it was Khan who further enforced his will, going to work with a succession of pinpoint strikes to close out a statement win and perhaps set-up a mouth-watering fight with New Zealand's Ev Ting.
Khan was adamant he'd deserved a shot at the title next. But with Martin Nguyen now committed to stepping down to bantamweight he was willing to lay down the gauntlet once again to the Auckland MMA fighter.
"I'll fight Ev Ting….I'm not scared of anyone," said Khan at the post-fight press conference.
Former UFC bantamweight Leandro Issa was made to work hard for his unanimous decision win over Korean Dae Hwan Kim, controlling the contest throughout as Kim but up a brave, yet eventually fruitless, defence against the former jiu-jitsu world champion.
Singapore's former Olympic swimmer Mey Ooi gave the partisan crowd further reason to cheer with another impressive showcase of her elite jiu-jitsu skills, executing a swift rear-naked choke finish of Cambodia's Vy Srey Khouch.
The bout between Li Kai Wen and Ahmed Mujtaba ended with the latter stretchered out of the cage after falling victim to a barrage of illegal blows to the back of head from his Chinese opponent. The Pakistani was ultimately awarded the win via disqualification.
Local Tiffany Teo booked herself a chance to become ONE's first women's strawweight champion with a spectacular armbar finish of India's Puja Tomar in the first round of their contest.
In the first match-up on the main card, Mei Yamaguchi cruised to a unanimous decision win over Gina Iniong. Yamaguchi was originally scheduled to fight Singaporean star Angela Lee before a car accident saw her opponent scratched from the card at late notice and the Japanese fighter wasted no time in reiterating her wishes to face Lee next during her post-fight interview.
Returning from a two-year hiatus, Arnaud Le Pont of France made light work of Filipino fighter Richard Corminal with a well-executed arm triangle submission finish in the opening round.
Bali MMA fighter Muhammad Aiman put in a solid display of striking in a catchweight bout against Yang Fei to clinch a unanimous decision win, while Cambodia's Sim Bunsrun opened the evening's proceedings with an emphatic first-round knockout against Chinese strawweight Miao Li Tao.
Newshub.
