Hu Yaozong rode out a series of insane shots during his epic slobberknocker with Andre Petroski at UFC 267

• American MMA fighter Andre Petroski can throw slug after slug.
• Hu Yaozong showed teak toughness in his UFC 267 middleweight fight with Petroski.

"It is not about how hard you hit, but how hard you can get hit… and keep moving."

ABU DHABI - The immortal words of Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone, almost rang true for Hu Yaozong in Saturday's UFC 267 showdown against featherweight opponent Andre Petroski.

The Chinese fighter took an extraordinary amount of punishment throughout the three-round bout, continually walking forward as Petroski hit him with heavy slug after slug.

Petroski landed 34 of 56 shots in the first round, 19 of 25 in the second, and 26 of 30 in the third, with the vast majority of those strikes deemed significant, according to UFC statistics.

Some of those hits were so heavy, and caused such a thud Octagonside, that this Insider reporter was wincing with each strike.

It is a testament to Yaozong's ability to absorb that amount of damage that he lasted deep into the third round.

He was eventually submitted with an arm triangle technique from half guard, with 14 seconds left on the Octagon clock.

Watch some of the action here:

And here:

This is the submission:

"Fuck, man, it's the greatest job in the world," Petroski said in a post-fight statement sent to Insider. "It's been my dream to come here, to fight here it's fucking double."

Victory advanced the 30-year-old American's pro MMA record to seven wins (four knockouts and three submissions) against just one loss, with two wins from two in UFC fights alone.

"Two wins, two finishes - still 100% finish rate," said Petroski. "It's been awesome. I'm grateful for the opportunities.

"Me knowing the last 15 seconds, I might as well just give it my all. To make my opponent quit or make him unconscious, that's why we get in this sport. That's the goal. Who wants to see a decision?"

Petroski's middleweight win over Yaozong was the second fight on the 14-bout UFC 267 card that took place inside the 18,000 capacity Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.