THACKERVILLE, Okla. – Linton Vassell’s move to heavyweight looked strong early, but eventually Valentin Moldavsky took over.

Moldavsky (8-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) outworked Vassell (19-8 MMA, 7-6 BMMA) for a unanimous decision in the Bellator 218 co-main event Friday. Moldavsky won with a trio of 29-27 scores after struggling with Vassell’s takedowns in the first round.

Bellator 218 took place Friday at WinStar World Casino & Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The main card aired on Paramount and streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Vassell worked low kicks early from the center. Moldavsky tried an overhand right, but Vassell was out of the way. Soon after, though, Vassell tried to get inside and Moldavsky caught him wtith a punch. The two clashed up a minute in and Vassell went low for a takedown. Moldavsky tried for a guillotine choke, but it was loose and Vassell dragged him to the canvas and went to work in half-guard. Vassell tried to get into positino forn arm-triangle choke and tried to pass, but Moldavsky popped out and got back to his feet.

With 90 seconds left, Vassell again scooped Moldavsky up and landed a hard slam near the fence. Vassell tried to pass again and landed a few pieces of ground-and-pound to close the frame.

Moldavsky took Vassell off his feet early in the second and was in position to look for a finish. But Vassell slipped away and found himself on top again trying to pass Moldavsky’s guard. He looked for elbows from the position while Moldavsky defended on his back. But with 90 seconds left, Moldavsky again scrambled out and got back to his feet.

He wasn’t there long – Vassell quickly drove him back to the canvas. Moldavsky looked like he was starting to fade on his back. But midway through the round, Moldavsky turned Vassell over to get on top. Moldavsky landed punches while Vassell tried to scramble out and back to his feet. But with a minute left, Moldavsky got an arm-triangle choke and squeezed. But Vassell defended it perfectly to get back to his knees. Then he had to defend more ground-and-pound and choke attempts, but he made it to the third round.

Moldavsky shot for a takedown early in the third and got it. He forced Vassell to cover up, then tried to pin his right arm down. Moldavsky kept Vassell stifled on the canvas with short ground-and-pound and kept him from getting back to his feet. Moldavsky appeared close to a finish down the stretch, but had to go the full 15 minutes.

For complete coverage of Bellator 218, check out the MMA Events section of the site.