Khan successfully defended his title for the third time against Maidana. Khan knocked Maidana down with a combination of two body shots in the first round. Maidana was saved by the bell but regained composure and continued to battle on. Khan dominated the scoring until tiring around round seven. Maidana rallied and midway through round ten stunned Khan with a heavy right hand. Maidana followed up with a series of uppercuts and right hands. Khan then rallied to win rounds eleven and twelve to solidify a UD win. The scores were 114–111 twice, and 113–112. Khan was open to a rematch. Khan landed 273 of 603 punches thrown (45%) and Maidana landed 156 of 767 thrown (20%). The fight was awarded Fight of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America.