ANAHEIM, United States - Ilia Topuria pulled off a brilliant second-round knockout to dethrone Alexander Volkanovski and claim the UFC featherweight belt at Saturday's UFC 298 event at the Honda Centre, handing the Australian his first loss in the division in the process.

In a fight billed as the youth of Topuria, who was born in Germany and grew up there and in Georgia before moving to Spain, against the veteran know-how of the 35-year-old Volkanovski, Topuria's ground-shaking power proved the difference.