Khamzat Chimaev utterly dominated Dricus Du Plessis on Saturday night to claim the UFC middleweight title.
The Russian-Emirati grappler dumped the defending champion on his back after just seven seconds and held him there for the majority of the fight.
In the end, he racked up 21 minutes and 40 seconds of ground control time over the course of a 25-minute contest, breaking the record for a UFC middleweight fight.
Only former lightweight champion Sean Sherk surpasses ‘Borz’ on the all-time list with his 22 minutes and 18 seconds of ground control time over Hermes Franca in 2007.
Chimaev landed 529 total strikes to Du Plessis’ 45 and completed 12 of his 17 takedown attempts.
In the end, all three judges were in agreement with wide scorecards of 50-44, handing Chimaev the win via a shutout unanimous decision.
Du Plessis had previously spent just four minutes and 56 seconds on the bottom in his nine-fight UFC career, but that was doubled in the opening stanza when Chimaev held him down for a total of four minutes and 46 seconds.
Speaking in the immediate aftermath, the battered and bruised South African said: “The man has incredible control on the top.
“He’s just like a blanket. I mean, it wasn’t a matter of strength. He wasn’t that physical.
“It’s almost as if he knew what your next move was going to be…
“Big up Chimaev, he beat me fair and square tonight. He was the better man tonight.
“And I will be back. I’ll be coming back to get my belt back.
“But for now, it is his, and he deserves it. I hope he enjoys it.”
When will Khamzat Chimaev return to the Octagon?
When Chimaev had his say on the mic, he urged the UFC to allow him to make his first title defence at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi on October 25.
“I’m ready, always. No injuries, thanks God,” he told assembled media at his post-fight press conference.
The question was then posed to UFC president Dana White, who appeared to be willing to go along with Chimaev’s plan.
Referencing Baysangur Susurkaev’s four-day turnaround to make his company debut at UFC 319 after landing a contract on Tuesday’s Contender Series show, he said: “I just had a kid fight Tuesday and wanted to turn around and come here.
“Abu Dhabi, I would definitely consider it!”