Glover Teixeira did it.
He broke through as a UFC champion at age 42, submitting Jan Blachowicz to claim the light heavyweight title in the UFC 267 main event on Saturday, becoming the oldest first-time champion in the promotion's history.
Also, Petr Yan captured the interim bantamweight title with a unanimous decision win over Cory Sandhagen, Islam Makhachev continued his ascent in the lightweight division by submitting Dan Hooker in Round 1, and Khamzat Chimaev made a triumphant return with a first-round rout of Li Jingliang.
Here are four takeaways from the event:
A special, feel-good moment
A little over three years ago, Teixeira was 2-3 in his past five fights - two of which were brutal knockout losses - and coming off a decision defeat to Corey Anderson.
He was still a top-15 light heavyweight, but that wasn't saying much given the division's lack of depth. Frankly, Teixeira appeared to be past his prime and many doubted that he was a legitimate contender. The possibility of him winning the title wasn't in anyone's train of thought.
Three years later, Teixeira is the best in the world, and no one can take that away from him. It wasn't a lucky punch or a controversial scorecard that went his way, but a perfect game plan and a dominant performance, with Teixeira getting Blachowicz to the mat early and often.
Teixeira previously challenged for the UFC light heavyweight belt against Jon Jones in 2014 but came up short in a lopsided decision. It took many ups and downs over Teixeira's 19-year MMA career for him to reach the UFC throne.
But even his latest, career-defining winning streak wasn't all roses. Teixeira was on the brink of a knockout defeat against Karl Roberson before coming back to lock him in an arm-triangle choke. Teixeira was also one scorecard away from losing to Nikita Krylov and had to battle through adversity to win his No. 1 contender bout against Thiago Santos in October 2020.
The key for Teixeira was believing in himself.
"Never give up on your dreams," Teixeira said postfight. "No matter what people say, don't listen to them. They're gonna put you down."
As improbable as it may be, here we are: Glover Teixeira is a UFC champion in 2021. What a legend.
The top 135er in the world
"And now, the two-time UFC bantamweight champion of the world ..."
Those were cage announcer Joe Martinez's words when he declared Petr Yan the winner of the co-main event against Sandhagen, but of course, something was missing. This was only an interim title fight, so Yan is not the undisputed bantamweight champion. That's Aljamain Sterling.
Martinez presumably left out the word "interim" by mistake, which isn't a big deal, but it was an ironic moment when you consider the circumstances at the top of the division.
When Yan and Sterling fought in March, Sterling left the Octagon as the new champion after Yan was disqualified for an illegal knee in the fourth round. However, Yan seemed to be in control of the fight, and many people still considered him the best bantamweight in the world.
Yan's performance against Sandhagen only solidified that feeling.
"No Mercy" had a slow start like usual, but by the championship rounds, the momentum was on his side. Yan was in a different gear than Sandhagen and in full control. His ferocity, power, crisp boxing technique, and takedown defense were on display yet again.
Yan will be a tough guy to stop - even against the undisputed champion who officially beat him earlier in 2021.
The present - and future - of 155 pounds
For those who've been living under a rock, Makhachev has arrived - and he's a monster.
The ease with which Makhachev got Hooker to the ground and submitted him with a kimura was ridiculously impressive. Makhachev hadn't scored a first-round finish since 2018, often preferring to kick his aggression up a notch in the later rounds, but there was no waiting in this fight.
The biggest difference between Makhachev's win over Hooker and his many other triumphs is the caliber of his opponent. This was the first time he fought a top-10 fighter, and he obviously had no issue dealing with the step up in competition.
You could make the argument before that Makhachev hadn't proved himself against a top fighter and therefore wasn't as talented as he appeared, but that argument became harder to make after he destroyed the No. 6-ranked lightweight.
Makhachev might just follow in his friend Khabib Nurmagomedov's footsteps at this point and dominate the division for years to come. He might even be the best lightweight in the world right now. Whether it happens in 2022 or not, all indications point to the Russian wearing a UFC belt down the road.
Chimaev ready to face the best
Chimaev faced some doubt prior to his return because of a nasty bout with COVID-19 earlier in 2021 that forced him out of multiple fights and made him consider retiring from MMA.
But "Borz" picked up right where he left off, and he's once again one of the hottest prospects in the sport.
The submission win over Li was significantly more impressive than his first three UFC victories in 2020. That's because Li was the No. 11-ranked welterweight, while Chimaev's other wins came against unranked competition, including two opponents who are no longer under UFC contract.
When Chimaev broke onto the UFC scene on Fight Island last year, the hype might've been a little premature for some. He wasn't ranked, and suggesting someone should fight Kamaru Usman after beating Gerald Meerschaert does sound ludicrous, but it is wrong to not consider Chimaev a top-10 fighter now at 170 pounds.
A fight with Neil Magny or Belal Muhammad might be the logical next step, but Chimaev defies logic. The 27-year-old has out-struck his opponents 254-2 in total strikes and 112-1 in significant strikes; think about how insane that is.
He's beyond fighting Magny or Muhammad at this point. There's no longer any doubt that Chimaev is a special fighter, and he's ready to be fast-tracked to the top.
Give Chimaev a top-five opponent like Gilbert Burns or Vicente Luque next, and let's see how far Chimaev can take this historic, undefeated run.
