Australian Jack Della Maddalena outstruck Belal Muhammad to claim the UFC welterweight championship by unanimous decision after a climactic final-round scramble left Muhammad bloodied from a knee strike.

Perth-born Della Maddalena, who has a boxing background, thwarted several takedown attempts from Muhammad, the superior wrestler, to keep most of the fight on the feet as he claimed his 18th professional win in a row, handing the American his first loss in six years.

“He brings the pressure. I knew I had to be sharp on my feet,” Della Maddalena said. “I wanted to take him out of there. I was gunning for a finish but Belal is a tough dude.”

Della Maddalena, 28, now wants to face lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, who had taken the belt from Australian champion Alexander Volkanovski.

“I think its a beautiful challenge. He’s the pound-for-pound No 1. I want to get him back for Volk,” Della Maddalena said.

In the co-main event, Kyrgyzstan’s Valentina Shevchenko defended her flyweight belt with a unanimous decision over Manon Fiorot, who suffered her first loss after 12 straight wins.

Shevchenko’s right hooks left Fiorot’s nose bleeding in the first round, but the Frenchwoman fought back, pinning Shevchenko to the cage and landing knees from the clinch over the next two rounds.

But Shevchenko escaped a body lock in the fourth round and knocked Fiorot down, before landing a spinning backfist and a superwoman punch in the fifth and final round to ensure a 48-47 victory on all three judges’ scorecards