Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight scrappers Chris Camozzi and Vitor Miranda battled last night (May 29, 2016) at UFC Fight Night 88 inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Since returning to UFC as a sacrifice for "Jacare" Souza, Camozzi put together a pair of wins and seemed to be coming into his own. Last night, he was looking to upset the Brazilian kickboxer.

Meanwhile, Miranda had brutalized his last three opponents with combinations of hard knees and kicks. Opposite a fellow striker, Miranda was hoping for a similar result in Las Vegas.

Instead, his opponent put on a clinic.

Camozzi opened the bout by pressuring and found his range early. Backing his opponent up, Camozzi scored with lots of low kicks, some straight punches, and a powerful clinch knee.

For much of the round, Camozzi out-struck his opponent. Miranda did his best to maintain range and kick, but Camozzi's use of the outside angles kept him safe and allowed him to land the better punches.

The rounded ended with some punches being traded from the heel hook position, which was certainly an interesting little exchange. Regardless, Camozzi clearly took the opening frame.

Miranda started the round aggressively, kicking at his opponent's legs and throwing more punches. It seemed to be going well until Camozzi caught a kick and swept his opponent to the mat about 90 seconds into the round.

It took Camozzi a minute to really get going, but he eventually advanced position a bit and began landing some small ground strikes. He didn't land anything too dramatic -- in large part due to his opponent's defensive grappling skill -- but he controlled his opponent until the end of the round and bloodied him up.

It was a very strong round for the American.

Miranda went after Camozzi to start the round, but it quickly landed him on the wrong side of a takedown. Miranda eventually worked back to his feet, but it cost him a couple minutes and he took some hard shots.

Back on the feet, Miranda was still throwing aggressively. Both men were tired, allowing the majority of strikes thrown to land. On the whole many of the exchanges were close, as Camozzi threw in higher volume whereas Miranda landed with a bit more power.

Regardless of the close third round, Camozzi's work in the first two rounds clearly won him the fight.

This was Camozzi's most complete performance to date. He really has put it all together in the last year or so, and this was a showcase of his full game. Across 15 minutes, Camozzi out-worked his opponent at range, in the clinch, and on the mat.

Camozzi's movement made a big different in this fight. Against a man with a very powerful left kick, Camozzi did a very nice job circling to the outside and weakening that weapon. It also allowed Camozzi to land crisp punches and work his way into the clinch, where he was effective with both strikes and takedowns.

Furthermore, Camozzi's wrestling was on point. He's always been pretty solid defensively, but it was nice to see him mix it up and add more depth to his offense.

Based on his current win streak, it wouldn't be unreasonable for Camozzi to get an opponent inside the top 15. For example, a match with Thales Leites would make sense.

This was a rough bout for Miranda, who was pretty clearly beaten and battered in all areas. He may have knocked out his last three opponents, but this was clearly a different level of competition.

Beyond getting placed on his back -- which is less than ideal for all kickboxers -- Miranda's footwork left a lot to be desired. As Brian Stann accurately pointed out, Miranda had no real answer for Camozzi's circling and didn't adjust.

Had he been able to cut off the cage or at least threaten with his right hand, it could've been a different fight.

Following this loss, it's clear that Miranda's ceiling is as an action fighter in the middle of the division. At his age, he's not going to make any crazy strides to fix the major holes in his game, but he could still provide plenty of entertainment.

Last night, Chris Camozzi battered his opponent en route to a unanimous decision win. Where does Camozzi go from here?

For complete UFC Fight Night 88: "Garbrandt vs Almeida" results and play-by-play, click HERE!