UFC on FOX 24 results: Aljamain Sterling shows all-around skills, rebounds to beat Augusto Mendes

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Aljamain Sterling’s wrestling skills were on point, as usual, against Augusto Mendes.

But perhaps more than ever, Sterling (13-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) showed a willingness to stand in the pocket and trade with Mendes (6-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC), and it paid off with a unanimous decision.

The bantamweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC on FOX 24 event at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of additional prelims and a main card on FOX.

The final scorecards were unanimously 29-28 for Sterling, who got a run for his money in the first round as Mendes proved to be unexpectedly scrappy. A surprise guillotine attempt set up a triangle choke that forced Sterling to pause and get his bearings, and an oma plata saw the wrestler momentarily lose position before scrambling back into control.

Sterling feinted with kicks to keep Mendes from reproducing his first-round success. But eventually, Mendes caught up and stuffed him against the cage. Seemingly frustrated at another losing grappling exchange, Sterling used a separation to chase down a scrap with Mendes, who appeared to be a little surprised at all the combinations coming his way.

When Sterling figured out that Mendes had lost his pop in the third, he loosened up and got some more standup time, landing a big left hook before the inevitable takedown. After scrapping it out on the mat, the two slugged it out in the last 30 seconds, and Sterling landed the better blows.

Now back in the win column after a pair of setbacks, Sterling should be buoyed by his all-around performance after admitting doubts about his style. Mendes goes back to the drawing board after an upset of Frankie Saenz in his previous outing.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on FOX 24 results include:

• Aljamain Sterling def. Augusto Mendes via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Devin Clark def. Jake Collier via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Anthony Smith def. Andrew Sanchez via knockout (knee, punches) – Round 3, 3:52
• Zak Cummings def. Nathan Coy via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:21
• Ketlen Vieira def. Ashlee Evans-Smith via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

For complete coverage UFC on FOX 24, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s Matt Erickson and Simon Samano contributed to this report on site in Kansas City.)