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Paddy Pimblett earned the biggest win of his career as he stopped Michael Chandler in the third round of a dominant performance at UFC 314 in Miami, Florida.
The Liverpudlian out-struck and out-grappled America's Chandler in a statement victory as the referee ended the contest following repeated ground strikes.
UFC commentator Jon Anik welcomed the 30-year-old to "the elite" as the win extended his unbeaten run in the UFC to seven bouts.
Pimblett, who will move into the top 10 of the UFC's lightweight ranking, called for a top-five opponent after the bout, which was a potential title-eliminating contest.
"Anyone in the top five, I want that world title. All laugh as you want and say I'll never be ranked, I'll never be in the top 10, but what now you gang of mushrooms?" said Pimblett.
"I want Dustin [Poirier], Justin [Gaethje], Charles [Oliveira] or Arman [Tsarukyan].
Pimblett, who is 12th in the UFC lightweight rankings, had called the bout with Chandler the biggest of his career, with the American ranked five places above him in seventh.
Chandler, 38, has built up a big fan base in the UFC with his gung-ho style, while the fanfare surrounding charismatic Pimblett led to the bout being described as the "people's main event".
Fans were on their feet at Kaseya Centre as a smiling Pimblett danced towards the octagon, while a focused-looking Chandler walked out purposefully draped in an American flag.
Chandler's explosiveness was predicted to cause problems for Pimblett but he navigated the contest with aplomb, keeping Chandler at bay with his range and out-working him on the ground.
Pimblett opened with a succession of leg kicks before Chandler secured the first takedown of the fight, but he was unable to take advantage of the position.
With Pimblett's control of distance causing problems for Chandler, the action went to the ground again in the second round, with the Briton threatening submissions as the crowd roared on the action.
Pimblett was in control of the fight and the defining blow was moments away as he opened a huge cut below Chandler's left eye with a knee in the third round.
With the American stunned and retreating, Pimblett secured a takedown before working his way to full-mount on the canvas and ending the contest with a flurry of ground strikes.
Pimblett celebrated as he shouted "what now?" into television cameras, before dancing prior to his post-fight interview.
"Everything we've worked with my team has just happened here. This is how we win, we gameplan, use our fight IQ and we beat people up. Anyone else got any questions?" said Pimblett.
"I respect Dustin and Justin but Charles is the biggest legend of them all. He gets called the best submission artist the UFC has ever seen but I dispute that - I'm here."
The main event saw Australia's Alexander Volkanovski become a two-time champion as he beat Brazil's Diego Lopes by unanimous decision.
The 36-year-old won a back-and-forth contest 48-47 49-46 49-46 on the judges' scorecards to regain the belt he lost to Ilia Topuria last February.
The title match was made when Topuria vacated his title in February to move up to lightweight.
Volkanovski - widely regarded as one of the greatest featherweights of all time - was fighting for the first time since that defeat, with Lopes earning the opportunity after a five-fight win streak.
Volkanovski started strongly, rocking Lopes early with a left-right combination and ending the first round in dominant fashion on the ground.
Volkanovski continued to outclass Lopes until being rocked by a straight right at the end of the second round.
But the Australian recovered quickly, and despite being stunned again in the fourth round and forced on the retreat, Volkanovski was the busier striker across every round as he secured victory.
"It's good to be back, I've never felt the love so much. I promised my girls I'd bring the belt back to them," said Volkanovski.
"A lot of people counted me out but to come back and beat a guy like Diego Lopes. For everyone watching, adversity is a privilege. This moment is incredible."
