UFC on FOX 23 results: Raphael Assuncao earns narrow win over Aljamain Sterling

Neither Raphael Assuncao nor Aljamain Sterling were able to get fully untracked in their UFC on FOX 23 matchup in Denver.

Both fighters seemed to struggle a bit in the mile-high atmosphere on Saturday night.

But Assuncao managed to make the most of his power shots over the course of the fight, scoring with several big overhand rights. And that was enough to convince two judges at the Pepsi Center see the bout Assuncao’s way. The Atlanta resident got two out of three 29-28 scores for a split-decision win.

Sterling tried to pepper Assuncao with volume in the slower-moving-than-expected fight, as his most solid strikes were low kicks. But Assuncao managed to counter most of them. He also landed accidental low blows twice in the fight, neither of which were called fouls.

The victory was the Assuncao’s eighth in his past nine fights. But it was also his first since 2014, as he missed time due to a knee injury and lost his return fight to T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 200.

“He’s a tough guy,” Assuncao (24-5) said. “You know, I had to play with the flow. There’s no excuse, the altitude is real. Sorry it wasn’t a stellar performance.”

Sterling (12-2) has lost back-to-back split decisions since going through a very public free agency period and re-signing with the UFC.