Houston wins world championship
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Ross Houston became Cage Warriors welterweight world champion after coming through a five-round battle with Stefano Paterno, winning on a split decision.
After an even first round where both men landed strikes, Houston set about taking control in the second and third rounds.
He mainly did so on the ground, where he dominated Paterno, even gaining full guard advantage at one stage.
But he did also drop Paterno to a knee with a right hand that caught the Italian defending champion, and at the end of the third it looked to be the Inverness fighter that was on top.
That would all change when Houston was dropped by an overhand right by Paterno in the fourth.
Houston survived through to the end of the round, but it could easily have been stopped there and then.
The previous four rounds had clearly taken their toll on both fighters in the final round, but a takedown from Houston may hav emade the difference, despite Paterno reversing the advantage at one stage.
But when all was said and done, it was Houston's hand that was raised as the winner and new Cage Warriors welterweight world champion.
Speaking immediately after the fight at Cage Warriors 98, Houston said: "This is the happiest moment of my life.
"Anyone who knows me knows that this is literally all I think about, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"It takes two people to have a fight, so respect to Stefano Paterno. He's came here from Italy, in a hostile crowd - I've got a lot of my guys here supporting - so respect to him.
"I've been doing this for a long time, so I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart who has ever believed in me, supported me, trained with me. It's one person fighting, but it's definitely a team sport."
Houston was philosophical about getting rocked in the fourth round, and paid tribute to the Birmingham crowd for getting him through to the end.
"Paterno is not a massive welterweight, he's an ambassador for not weight cutting, and that's my toughest fight by far so respect to him," he said.
"I remember getting caught and I stepped back, but my legs just weren't underneath me. They still aren't now by the looks of it.
"He caught me with a peach of a shot, and I head the referee say 'keep moving', so I tried to keep moving but he kept tagging me.
"I live up in the north of Scotland, my mum and my dad are from Scotland, all my brothers are from Scotland, so it's Scottish blood that's inside me.
"I represent Scotland, but I'll never forget that I lived in the Midlands until I was 21-years-old.
"I had a lot of support from up north, and I had a lot of support from down in the Midlands today, and I think in the end that made the difference."
