Movsar Evloev had his hands full with Aljamain Sterling but the Russian eventually won the grappling heavy battle to remain undefeated with a unanimous decision win at UFC 310.

While Sterling scored several takedowns, Evloev’s ability to stay out of trouble on the ground and then hit reversals of his own allowed him to show off his strength on the canvas. When Evloev was on top, he dished out more punishment and maintained control to eke out the victory in exciting showdown between two top fighters at 145 pounds.

All three judges ultimately scored the fight 29-28 for Evloev, who moves to 19-0 with the victory.

“It was not the best performance tonight but a former champion, a big wrestling guy, so pretty similar technique from both of us,” Evloev said about his win. “That’s why it was a jiu-jitsu match.

“I was working more on striking because I always have my own base. I can return to my wrestling any time, even if I don’t prepare. This was shooting all the time so I just gave him back my wrestling.”

A stiff right hand from Sterling led to an early takedown with Evloev stuck in a strange position defending on the ground. Sterling was methodical with his attacks, punching but never giving Evloev any room to operate so he could potentially slip free or reverse the position.

A momentary lapse from Sterling led to a reversal with Evloev then tossing him to the ground where he started looking for submissions but ran out of time before he could attack anything.

Sterling started the second round with another powerful takedown but Evloev quickly turned the tables on him, landing on top and then taking the back. Evloev couldn’t hold onto the position as the featherweights scrambled back to the feet, still battling for superior positioning.

The featherweight traded strikes momentarily with Evloev connecting with a stiff right hand and then he brought Sterling back down to the canvas.

Sterling wasting no time scrambling free and connecting with a reversal of his own. The wild back and forth exchanges continued on the ground with neither fighter willing to give an inch.

With five minutes remaining, Sterling opened by putting Evloev on the defensive again as he began bleeding the clock with takedowns and control against the cage. Evloev was almost conceding the position until he finally exploded with Sterling landing on his back with time running out in the third and final round.

Evloev began muscling Sterling around the ground while peppering away with punches as he showed off his superior strength and power, which seemingly made the difference to help him secure the third round and the fight.

With the win, Evloev inches that much closer to title contention, although it doesn’t appear he’s holding his breath when it comes to that as a possibility for his next fight.

“Who knows,” Evloev said. “You’ll always asking me the same question. Like I said, I’m always ready for a title shot.”