Coming into UFC 226, Costa was looking to break into the 185-pound top ten. The UFC lined him up across from Uriah Hall in a striker’s delight.
Hall had success early with his jab, using his speed to get to Costa before the Brazilian’s strikes connected. It was the first real adversity that fight fans saw Costa face. He found some success when he was able to back Hall up to the Octagon fence and land some heavy hooks and knees.
It was very clear that these two were in a real fight heading into the second.
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Costa started focusing on the body while he walked Hall down, and there was a brief moment where it seemed that Hall landed a good counter strike that put Costa to his knees, but Costa shook it off. Moments later, Costa started teeing off on Hall as he covered up against the fence. Costa connected with a furious combo that made Hall fall flat on his stomach and put an end to the fight.
Costa passed the test with flying colors.
