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Flyweight prospect Raulian Paiva gave fight fans their first finish of the night earlier this evening (Sat., Feb. 15, 2020) at UFC Fight Night 167 live on ESPN+ from inside Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, when he stopped Octagon veteran Mark De La Rosa via second-round TKO (punches).
The bigger Paiva found a home for his standup from the opening bell, as he whipped De La Rosa’s head back with straight jabs and uppercuts. De La Rosa hung in tough until Paiva turned the pressure up in the second. The two bantamweights collided for an exchange along the cage which allowed Paiva to time a perfect counter right that crashed into De La Rosa’s chin. De La Rosa fell to the canvas and the referee stepped in after a few more insurance shots.
Check out the finish above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.
With this performance, Paiva scores his first UFC victory after coming up short in his previous two appearances. The 24-year-old prospect had won 12 in a row prior to his Octagon debut just over one year ago so maybe this finish over a worthy opponent like De La Rosa sparks a string of success for Paiva.
For complete UFC Rio Rancho results and coverage click here.