Amir Albazi already has a pair of submissions inside the octagon but now he’s added his first knockout.
The Iraq native displayed improved striking throughout his fight with Alessandro Costa but it was a huge uppercut in the third round that helped him secure the finish at UFC Vegas 66. As he stepped into an exchange with his opponent, Albazi timed his punch and Costa’s head twisted around like a bottle cap as he fell to the ground with the fight ending a moment later.
The official end time came at 2:13 in the third round.
“This is what I expected,” Albazi said. “I want to showcase all my skills. People haven’t seen it. You see the power is there. I’m here trying to fight the best guys out there but no one wants to fight me.
“Now all I’m waiting for is that $50K bonus. I need that bonus for a new car hopefully.”
There was a lot of respect shown between the flyweights on the feet with Albazi looking to set up his jab from the outside while Costa was coming back at him with blistering power. Albazi eventually turned to his grappling to slow things down, although Costa showed solid takedown defense to keep the fight standing.
As Albazi was continuing to use his jab to keep Costa on his heels, he threw a perfectly timed right hand that buckled the Brazilian’s knees and put him down on the canvas. From there, Albazi looked to dominate with top control while peppering away with punches and elbows.
Albazi eventually postured up out of the guard to really begin raining down shots at Costa, who was largely stuck on his back without offering much resistance to get back up again.
As the third round started, Albazi went back to his grappling but Costa was able to scramble free this time to get back to his feet. Albazi quickly made him pay with the combination of punches that ended with the uppercut as Costa went down for the final time in the fight.
Now 4-0 in the UFC with three finishes along the way, Albazi appears to be a serious threat to the top contenders in the flyweight division and he’s obviously hoping a higher ranked opponent will be awaiting him when he returns in 2023.
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