Twice in the course of five rounds, Al Iaquinta had Kevin Lee stuck to his back, threatening with his ground game after hitting key takedowns. And each time Iaquinta survived and returned to his feet, it proved to be bad news for Lee, who couldn’t gain any momentum down the stretch as Iaquinta continued to batter his swollen face in the later rounds.

In the end, that was enough to convince all three judges to score it for the underdog Iaquinta, who won a unanimous decision after five close and competitive rounds with scores of 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46.

The lightweight bout was the main event of today’s UFC on FOX 31 show at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. It aired on FOX following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

After a close first round, it was Lee (17-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) who gained the first real advantage thanks to his grappling. After taking down Iaquinta (14-4-1 MMA, 9-3 UFC) in the second, he secured back control with a body triangle and went to work with slapping strikes and sideways elbows, though Iaquinta defended well and worked back to his feet late in the round.

Once he managed to settle into his standup game and find his rhythm in the striking exchanges, it proved to be trouble for Lee. With straight rights and well timed left hooks, Iaquinta stung Lee more and more as the fight wore on, bloodying his face and raising swelling around Lee’s eyes.

Still, when Lee needed to halt Iaquinta’s advance the takedown proved to be an effective tool, allowing him to take over the fight and eat up big chunks of time on Iaquinta’s back.

But in the fourth and fifth, Iaquinta largely managed to neutralize that threat, stringing more and more strikes together and hurting Lee with punches and even a head kick late in the fight.

As the time ticked down in the final round, Iaquinta took nearly complete control of the fight, advancing on Lee and battering him in an increasingly one-sided display. That apparently made an impact on the judges, all three of whom gave the fight to Iaquinta.

The win is Iaquinta’s first since his loss to current UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in April. Lee now has lost two of his last three.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on FOX 31 results:

• Al Iaquinta def. Kevin Lee via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
• Edson Barboza def. Dan Hooker via knockout (strikes) – Round 3, 2:19
• Rob Font def. Sergio Pettis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Charles Oliveira def. Jim Miller via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:15
• Zak Ottow def. Dwight Grant via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Drakkar Klose def. Bobby Green via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Joaquim Silva def. Jared Gordon via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 2:39
• Jack Hermansson def. Gerald Meerschaert via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:25
• Zak Cummings def. Trevor Smith via unanimous-decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Dan Ige def. Jordan Griffin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Mike Rodriguez def. Adam Milstead via knockout (strikes) – Round 1, 2:59
• Juan Adams def. Chris De La Rocha via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 0:58

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 31, visit the UFC Eventssection of the site.