Demian Maia controlled Jorge Masvidal for more than half of their pivotal welterweight matchup at UFC 211, and seemed to convincingly win, but “Gamebred” was only a scorecard away from being announced the victor.

In the first round of the title eliminator, Maia rode Masvidal’s back and looked for a rear-naked choke for nearly the entire round, limiting the American Top Team product’s offense. Masvidal appeared to hurt the Brazilian with seconds left in the round, but not enough to warrant a stoppage.

The second round was much closer, as Masvidal was able to keep it standing for approximately the first two minutes before being inevitably taken down by the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace. An argument could be made for Masvidal taking the second round, as he landed a handful of somewhat heavy blows while standing and Maia didn’t deliver much actual damage.

Masvidal found success on the feet yet again early in the third and final round, but Maia controlled him for much of the latter half on the mat and mixed in some submission attempts.

After the bout was over, Maia’s hand was raised, but barely.

Judges Jeff Mullen and Sal D’Amato both scored the fight 29-28 Maia, while Aladin Martinez scored the fight 29-28 Masvidal, giving the Florida-based competitor rounds one and two. Two judges actually gave Masvidal the first, but one gave Maia the second, which turned out to be the difference.

Check out the scorecards below:

UFC president Dana White confirmed after the event Maia will fight welterweight champion Tyron Woodley next, but the title fight is not yet official.

UFC 211 took place live from American Airlines Center in Dallas on Saturday night. In the main event, heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic finished Junior dos Santos in the first round. Strawweight titleholder Joanna Jedrzejczyk defended her belt for the fifth time with a dominant performance over Jessica Andrade in the co-headliner.