Sunday 15 March 2015 11:05, UK
Rafael dos Anjos earned a surprise win over Anthony Pettis to win the lightweight championship at UFC 185 in Dallas, Texas.
And Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Poland became the first European in the modern era to capture a UFC title by knocking out women's strawweight champion Carla Esparza.
The two victories ended the United States' dominance over UFC championships, with the likes of Ronda Rousey, Jon Jones and Chris Weidman helping to keep nine of the 10 belts inside the country prior to Saturday night.
But Dos Anjos, a veteran in the organisation since 2008 who is only now reaching his prime, delivered a relentless performance that won him all five rounds against Pettis - earning a unanimous decision.
The tone was set in the opening round when the Brazilian stayed glued to Pettis' chest, not allowing the champion space to deliver his trademark kicks.
Dos Anjos completed nine of 10 takedown attempts and smothered Pettis on the ground at will en route to victory. He follows in the footsteps of Anderson Silva, Shogun Rua and Junior dos Santos as Brazil's UFC champions.
History
Before the main event, Jedrzejczyk wrote herself into the history books in just the second fight for the UFC's newest championship.
The 115-pound women's title was brought to Europe after a punch-perfect display from the Pole, whose overwhelming boxing skills halted Esparza in the second round.
She becomes the first European champion in the modern era - Andrei Arlovski and Bas Rutten briefly held the heavyweight title a decade-plus ago.
Previously, Johny Hendricks earned a decision win over Matt Brown and Alistair Overeem out-pointed Roy Nelson.
Sunderland's Ross Pearson and Ireland's Joe Duffy scored knockouts over Sam Stout and Jake Lindsey, respectively.
