UFC 276 talking points: Five things we learned

Israel Adesanya made quite the entrance before defending his middleweight title at UFC 276.

Alexander Volkanovski, meanwhile, felt he had made a point to his doubters as he retained his featherweight belt - outclassing Max Holloway to conclude their epic three-fight rivalry.

The night also put forward a perfect opponent for Adesanya to take on next.

And a fine career was brought to a close as UFC legend Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone announced his retirement.

Here are five things we learned from an eventful night in Las Vegas.

During Adesanya's four years in the UFC, he has produced a series of iconic moments.

From knocking out great rival Robert Whittaker, to showboating against UFC legend Anderson Silva, he has created memories inside the octagon that are replayed on highlight reels over and over again.

The New Zealander created another one in Las Vegas - but it wasn't inside the cage.

In making his way to the octagon, Adesanya, 32, paid tribute to WWE's The Undertaker in a chilling entrance which had the crowd on their feet.

As the lightning from The Undertaker's theme song struck, Adesanya appeared on the big screens dressed in a wide-brimmed hat, head bowed and carrying an urn in imitation of the pro wrestler.

It was an atmospheric introduction to what turned out to be another effective performance from the middleweight champion.

Alex Pereira wasn't even ranked before his victory over Sean Strickland on Saturday, but he's already the favourite to get the next middleweight title shot.

In knocking out America's Strickland, who is fourth in the middleweight rankings, the Brazilian showed he can beat top-ranked opponents.

But what makes a bout between Adesanya and Pereira so mouth-watering is the history between the pair.

Pereira, 34, holds two victories over Adesanya from their days as kickboxers early in their careers.

With no middleweight really troubling Adesanya so far, could Pereira finally be the one to cause him problems?

It seems unlikely that the number two ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC could be underestimated but Volkanovski believes he has been.

Following his third straight win over Holloway - and his most emphatic performance yet in the trilogy - the Australian hit out at his doubters.

"It was good to finally put an end to it [the rivalry] and silence a lot of people," said Volkanovski in the post-fight press conference.

"To take out someone like Max three times is really really something.

"People have been pretty biased. I wanted to silence people. I'm not holding any animosity but some of you needed to know."

Holloway is regarded as one of the best featherweights of all time - so it says much that Volkanovski has beaten him three times.

A number of UFC stars have already expressed their desire to fight Volkanovski, who wants to move up to lightweight in the hope of becoming a two-division champion.

After 16 years, 38 UFC fights and 23 wins in the promotion, Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone has retired.

Following defeat by fellow veteran Jim Miller, 38-year-old Cerrone put on his trademark cowboy hat before untying his gloves.

In the post-fight interview, Miller urged UFC commentator Joe Rogan to speak to Cerrone first, hinting his opponent had something important to say.

"I don't love it any more," said Cerrone.

"I wanna be a movie star baby, it's time to bow out.

"It's the perfect event, a sold-out crowd, one hell of a career. Hopefully one day I'll be in the hall of fame, thank you so much UFC."

International Fight Week is the big one when it comes to MMA events - with two title fights on a card brimming with eye-catching match-ups in Las Vegas, the fight capital of the world.

Sitting at cageside for UFC 276 were many of the promotion's biggest stars.

Everywhere you looked among the front few rows of the T-Mobile Arena were UFC champions and former title-holders.

From Francis Ngannou and Kamaru Usman to Charles Oliveira and Jiri Prochazka, the UFC's top talent came to watch.

With so many fighters in close proximity, there was always a chance of an altercation - as lightweight rivals Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler proved...

The fighters were joined by a host of celebrities, such as former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal and actor Chris Pratt, to complete a star-studded audience in Las Vegas.