Bryan Caraway grinds away Aljamain Sterling

Many pundits seemed to label Sterling the preordained winner of this grudge match. However, after a shaky first round, Caraway did enough in the next two rounds to take the decision. Sterling showed flashes early, but he inability to score at distance played into Caraway’s hands. "Kid Lightning" managed to win the decision despite landing only 9 sig strikes and putting up a -14 StrikeScore. Caraway is the first fighter in 2016 to win a decision with a negative StrikeScore.

The following chart show Sterling’s total striking percentage overall and at distance (that is, on the feet, not in the clinch). Most fighters are less accurate at distance. However, Sterling’s dropoff is rather drastic.