Evloev outgrapples Sterling for decision win at UFC 310

LAS VEGAS - Featherweight contender Movsar Evloev moved one step closer to a title shot at UFC 310, defeating former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

The 30-year-old Russian remained undefeated with the victory, lifting his professional record to 19-0.

Meanwhile, Sterling falls to 1-1 since moving up to 145 pounds earlier this year.

Evloev and Sterling put on a grappling-heavy fight, each displaying a high-level skill set. Evloev completed four of five takedown attempts, while Sterling converted six of eight. Evloev and Sterling amassed more than six minutes of control time each.

UFC Hall of Famer and Evloev's countryman, Khabib Nurmagomedov, weighed in on X, saying he believes Evloev should be next in line to challenge Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title.

Evloev is now 9-0 since making his UFC debut in 2019. Evloev is the first fighter in UFC history to win his first nine fights all by decision, according to MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn.

Sterling was coming off a unanimous decision win over Calvin Kattar at UFC 300 in April. "Funk Master" moved up in weight after dropping the bantamweight title to Sean O'Malley in August 2023.