Alessandro Costa kicked off UFC 301 quite literally Saturday as he defeated Kevin Borjas in the card’s prelim opener.
The TKO stoppage came at 1:35 of Round 2 and began with a series of leg kicks by Costa (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) that killed the lead leg of Borjas (9-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC). The flyweight bout took place at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
With a fast-paced and back-and-forth Round 1 in the bag, the finishing sequence began after the break. Costa found damaging success with leg kicks that sat Borjas down on the canvas. Borjas tried to power through the dead-leg but eventually was swarmed by Costa, who mounted him. A few punches later, the referee saw enough and waved off the fight.
Alessandro Costa starts #UFC301 off with a win for Brazil 🇧🇷 💪 pic.twitter.com/EJ3fjYOvNf
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 4, 2024
Costa bounces back into the win column as he rebounds from a unanimous decision loss to UFC 301 headliner Steve Erceg in November. The win was his second in the UFC, with his first against Jimmy Flick in June.
Borjas comes up short in his second UFC attempt. He debuted in November and lost a unanimous decision to Joshua Van.
The up-to-the-minute UFC 301 results include:
- Alessandro Costa def. Kevin Borjas via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:35
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.
