Yanez knocks out Costa in Round 2

Randy Costa started things off and Adrian Yanez finished them. With a flourish.

After being outclassed in the first round by the lanky Costa, Yanez worked his hands in the second round and unloaded a combination, culminating in an uppercut that put Costa on the canvas. Yanez continued the flurry with Costa on the ground until referee Chris Tognoni stepped in to stop the action at 2:11 of the second. The official decision was TKO.

Costa clearly won the first round. He used his range and kicking game to keep Yanez at bay, then landed a beautiful jab. Yanez was very bloody before the end of the first. Costa even connected with a couple of kicks to the head. But Yanez was durable, took advantage of a potential adrenaline rush from Costa and dropped his hands in the second. The body shots set up the uppercut and surely helped drain Costa.

“I started too slow and, man, it came out fast,” Yanez said in his post-fight interview. “I just wasn’t prepared for it.

“The first round, I expected it to be a war, but he really outworked me with that jab.”

Yanez, 27, has won seven in a row, including his first three in UFC. The Texas native has finished four straight fights by technical knockout, his first three in the UFC and his Dana White Contender Series fight that earned him a roster spot. Yanez is the first male UFC fighter to win his first three fights in the promotion by knockout at bantamweight or lighter, Costa, a 27-year-old Massachusetts native, had a streak of two consecutive victories snapped.