Movsar Evloev is still undefeated after a high-paced grappling battle against former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling on the prelims of UFC 310.
The UFC-ranked top 10 matchup was one of the event’s most anticipated bouts, and it delivered with an exhausting pace of wrestling scrambles. After 15 minutes, Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) maintained his unblemished record by winning a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over Sterling (24-5 MMA, 16-5 UFC).
Sterling looked to set the tone early with quick, darting strikes. In this matchup between fantastic grapplers, Sterling was also the first to shoot in to bring the fight to the mat, eventually finding his way to Evloev’s back near the fence. After getting lifted and returned to the mat, Evloev escaped to take top position for a few moments of offense.
A well-timed level change in the opening exchange scored a nice takedown for Sterling early in Round 2, but Evloev was able to scramble and reverse the position. Just when Evloev appeared settled in, Sterling exploded back to his feet. After exchanging punches, Evloev got the fight to the ground where more wild scrambles unfolded until the horn.
With the fight seemingly tied going into the final round, Sterling came out quickly again, bringing the fight to the canvas. Sterling landed another big slam, but with just under two minutes to go, Evloev reversed the position and maintained control while adding punches until the fight concluded.
During his post-fight interview, Evloev, 30, said he hoped the win would be enough to earn a title shot. He entered with wins over top names such as Dan Ige, Diego Lopes and Arnold Allen. Sterling, 35, suffers his first defeat at 145 pounds.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 310 results include:
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Movsar Evloev def. Aljamain Sterling via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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Bryan Battle def. Randy Brown via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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Eryk Anders def. Chris Weidman via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:51
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Joshua Van def. Cody Durden via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-27)
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Michael Chiesa def. Max Griffin via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 1:56
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Chase Hooper def. Clay Guida via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:41
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Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Lukasz Brzeski via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:51
Related
UFC 310: Pantoja vs. Asakura live updates, results, round-by-round coverage of every fight
UFC 310 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage
UFC 310: Official scorecards from Las Vegas
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 310 results: Movsar Evloev outscrambles Aljamain Sterling to remain undefeated
