Miocic sets UFC record in epic Ngannou win

Stipe Moicic has withstood the fearsome punching of heavyweight phenomenon Francis Ngannou to set a heavyweight record at UFC 220.

The Croat had too much class for his huge-hitting opponent as he became the first man to defend the UFC heavyweight championship three successive times, courtesy of a unanimous points decision.

'BOOM!': Font wins with humongous head kick KO

'DEFINITIVE END': Massive uppercut puts fighter to sleep

Miocic (18-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) was caught by the vicious punching of one Ngannou (11-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) in the first round, causing his face to swell up and turn blue.

But the Croat's superior conditioning was evident from the second round onwards as he gradually wore the Cameroonian fighter down, eventually landing a rear-naked choke that was only stopped by the bell.

Both fighters traded blows in the third but it was Miocic's ability to take down his opponent after copping heavy strikes that proved the difference.

The fight ended up going the distance - the first time Ngannou has gone beyond the first round in his last four fights - but Miocic's ability to avoid the Cameroonian's power hitting made him the clear winner.

All three scorecards had Miocic a 50-44 winner, extending his winning streak to six and stopping Ngannou's at 10.

Earlier at UFC 220, local fighter Rob Font put on a show for his fans in Boston after scoring a brutal head kick KO on Thomas Almeida.

The American's second round TKO was the biggest of his career and it was made even sweeter by the fact he managed it in front of a packed house of home fans.

Font (15-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) stunned Almeida (22-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) with a barrage of striking in the second round, before his big moment.

The American hurt his Brazilian opponent with a huge right hand but it was the head kick which followed that did the most damage.

Font slipped through Almeida's defences with a big right kick that caught him on the side of the head and sent the Brazilian staggering sideways.

A barrage of strikes from Font followed before the referee called a stop to the fight at the 2:24 mark.

In one of the earlier prelims, Abdul Razak Alhassan stunned the UFC world with an absolutely brutal uppercut KO on Sabah Homasi in their much-anticipated rematch.

Alhassan caught Homasi in the first round with a vicious right uppercut that caught him flush on the chin and instantly knocked him out cold.

The Ghanaian's (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) win came with almost 100 seconds remaining in the first round and was Homasi's (11-8 MMA, 0-3 UFC) third straight defeat.