UFC Fight Night 31 results, photos: Rustam Khabilov gets by Jorge Masvidal

FORT CAMPBELL – Once-beaten Dagestani prospect Rustam Khabilov continued his impressive UFC run with a hard-fought decision win over a game Jorge Masvidal.

The lightweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC Fight Night 31 event at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and MMAjunkie.com.

While most expected him to wrestle from the start, Khabilov opened the action with a crisp overhand right. However, Masvidal didn’t stagger. Instead, he kept his hands high as the two traded strikes on the feet. Khabilov continued to find success by faking takedown and walking in with strikes, but Masvidal did well to defend the first real shot. Late in the round, a Masvidal right was nearly followed by a flying knee, but Khabilov pressed in and slowed things down. The round ended in the clinch.

The two continued to trade on the feet in the second, with Masvidal showing off his technical precision while Khabilov moved in and out and fired shots from odd angles. Masvidal added in a kick with some success and even scored a takedown of his own in the latter stages, though Khabilov was quickly back to his feet, briefly moving to his opponent’s back but unable to capitalize.

With the scores anything but certain in the third, Khabilov made a huge impact by flooring Masvidal with well-timed spinning high kick. Khabilov immediately rushed forward to take advantage of the opportunity, but Masvidal defended well and moved back to his feet. Masvidal looked to counter on the feet, and he briefly controlled the neck, but he couldn’t sink in an earnest choke attempt. Late in the frame, Masvidal attempted an ill-advised spinning kick, and Khabilov stepped into it and pushed him to the floor. The round played out on the floor, and the fight went to the judges, who have Khabilov the fight 30-27, 29-28 and 30-27

“This was a hard night, hard fight and hard training went into this camp,” Khaboliv said after the fight. “This was the best camp I’ve ever had.

“I’ve been working on the ‘Tiger’ kick you saw me land with my coaches. I’m happy I was able to use it in the fight. I’m very happy with my work tonight.”

With the win, Khabilov (17-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) keeps his UFC record unblemished. Masvidal (25-8 MMA, 2-1 UFC) sees a three-fight winning streak snapped.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 31 results include:

• Rustam Khabilov def. Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
• Michael Chiesa def. Colton Smith via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:41
• Bobby Green def. James Krause via TKO (kick) – Round 1, 3:50
• Francisco Rivera def. George Roop via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:20
• Dennis Bermudez def. Steven Siler via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Amanda Nunes def. Germaine De Randamie via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:56
• Lorenz Larkin def. Chris Camozzi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Yancy Medeiros def. Yves Edwards via KO (punches) – Round 1, 2:47
• Seth Baczynski def. Neil Magny via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Derek Brunson def. Brian Houston via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 0:48

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 31, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

Dann Stupp contributed to this report on-site at Fort Campbell.