Caraway silences Sterling with decision win on Fight Pass prelims

Bantamweight Bout: Bryan Caraway def. Aljamain Sterling via split decision

Bryan Caraway reminded Aljamain Sterling to be careful what he wishes for.

In a gritty battle between two of the bantamweight division's best grapplers, it was Caraway who earned the majority of the superior positions en route to a split-decision win in the featured Fight Pass preliminary at UFC Fight Night 88 in Las Vegas:

Caraway's victory came after months of one-sided trash talk from Sterling, who mocked Caraway's supposed reluctance to take certain fights and his relationship with women's bantamweight champion Miesha Tate.

The fight started promisingly for Sterling. After some inconclusive striking in the first round, Sterling tripped up Caraway next to the fence and quickly took his back. From there, he worked a variety of grappling techniques, including a rarely seen full nelson that had Caraway wincing in pain:

However, Caraway's experience shined in Rounds 2 and 3 as he refused to be flustered by Sterling's constant movement. As Sterling faded, Caraway landed several takedowns and searched for submissions of his own.

Round 3 ended with Caraway in back control, much to the disgust of Sterling, who tossed away his mouthpiece as the buzzer sounded knowing he let one get away.

The bout saw Caraway hand Sterling his first career loss, while adding to his own successful run of four wins in his last five fights. He also earned his second straight win over a top-10 bantamweight opponent.

Meanwhile, Sterling has to go back to the drawing board after an impressive stretch that saw him win 12 straight, including his first four UFC fights.

Heavyweight Bout: Adam Milstead def. Chris De La Rocha via 2nd-round TKO

The heavyweights started off UFC Fight Night 88 on the right foot with a rollicking and bloody brawl.

It took everything he had, but Adam Milstead was able to score a TKO win in the second round of his UFC debut against Chris De La Rocha. There wasn't a single blow that sealed the deal, but the referee's decision to call the fight may have been influenced by De La Rocha's crimson mask:

De La Rocha didn't give Milstead any time to get comfortable, as he charged hard out of the gate, which led to a heavy exchange of hands between the two men:

The intense action carried over into the second round. De La Rocha's attempts to grapple against the cage were foiled, and soon he was eating punch after punch from Milstead:

Milstead kept up the pressure until the fight was waved off at the 4:01 mark of Round 2 with De La Rocha still on his feet.

It was the eighth straight MMA victory for Milstead - all by knockout or submission.

De La Rocha remains winless in two UFC tries.