MIXED MARTIAL ARTS: AFTER months of intense preparation, it took Robert Whiteford just 34 seconds to see off Martin Svensson and claim the Vision Fighting Championship featherweight title.
A week after Whiteford, 29, told Herald Sport how he planned to make the giant Swede pay for a crushing fight camp, he came good on his promise by swarming on his opponent as soon as the cage door was shut at Vision 4: Evolution.
The Kelvin Hall in Glasgow erupted as Whiteford flew across the canvas and penned Svensson against the fence with a blizzard of punches. Were it not for the cage, the former champion would have been sprawled out on the floor of the arena.
The referee came to Svensson's rescue and, with a wave of his arms, signalled Whiteford as the new champion and reduced the emotional West Lothian native to tears of joy.
The win puts Whiteford a step closer to being snapped up by the UFC – a path that seems even more likely due to the fact that he has signed a deal with one of the very best MMA teams in the world.
Having spent four weeks with American Top Team (ATT) in Florida in preparation for the Svensson fight, Whiteford so impressed the coaches that he was asked to align himself with the team permanently.
In essence, the deal means he will fly out to the States to train for all of his future fights, while maintaining links with the Dinky Ninja Fight Team (DNFT) at their Griphouse base in Glasgow.
After his incredible victory, Whiteford said: "I'm ecstatic.
"I was choked up after the fight, because it's not just the fight – it's everything leading up to it.
"I would still be hitting Svensson now if the referee hadn't jumped in. I'm sure Martin will be devastated by the finish and I would be if I were in his shoes.
"He curled up and turned away and as soon as a fighter does that he's not defending himself.
"Now that it's over and done with I can announce that I've been offered a contract with ATT and I'm now signed with them. That's my main training camp now and I'll be out there in the States training an awful lot and they've got my back."
The significance of his move to ATT cannot be overstated. It is unprecedented in Scottish MMA and it's no secret that the UFC prefers to deal with fighters who are aligned to the bigger gyms and fight teams.
And they don't come much bigger than ATT, which is home to UFC stars George Sotiropoulos, Nik Lentz and Denis Kang among others.
Whiteford auditioned for the UFC's reality TV show The Ultimate Fighter in June. And while he didn't make it through the trials and into the house, the rumours were that he had come very close and was told by the UFC to bide his time.
Though he was coy on the specifics of his arrangement with the UFC, Whiteford said: "I was at those trials and I'm still under contract with the UFC just now and I can't really speak about it.
"I think you can gather from that that they didn't just put my name on a piece of paper, I had to sign stuff and I'm under legal obligation and can't speak about it."
In the night's other big clash, Graham Turner defeated underdog Adam Stevenson to claim the lightweight belt, which was vacated by Jani Lax who retired immediately after his May win over Bobby McVitie in Sweden.
Turner, widely regarded as Scotland's most dangerous fighter, was shocked by a very aggressive Stevenson in a lively first round. But Turner recovered, despite a broken nose, to execute a smart game-plan and win each of the remaining four rounds.
Stevenson won many admirers with his performance and Turner once again proved he is among the very best in Europe.
'Fight of the Night' was awarded to a thrilling undercard clash between Peter McCafferty and Ryan McShane, which saw McCafferty claim victory by tapout with seconds left in the third and final round.
Results
Undercard C-class bouts:
Steven Owens defeated Sean McInally by TKO in second round
James Scott defeated Owen Longrigg by unanimous decision
Gordon Price defeated Mateusz Grabiec by decision
Peter McCafferty defeated Ryan McShane by tapout due to triangle choke in round three
Matthew Donald beat Scott Mulgrew by KO in round one
Main card professional bouts
Shaun Taylor beat Estoban Mendoza by tapout due to rear naked choke in first round
Mark Handely beat Iain Posslethwaite by tapout due to rear naked choke in first round
Chris Svensson beat David Stone by tapout due to arm triangle in first round
Gaz Pilot vs Jamie Nolan was scored as a split draw
Graham Armstrong defeated Phil Flynn by tapout due to rear naked choke in second round
Chris Scott beat Kristian Lexell via submission due to rear naked choke in second round
Featherweight title fight
Rab Whiteford defeated Martin Svensson by TKO in round one
Lightweight title fight
Graham Turner beat Adam Stevenson by unanimous decision
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