Protect yourself at all times – even if you’re the referee.

Such was the situation Saturday at UFC Fight Night 233 after Steve Garcia brutally finished Melquizael Costa with a bombardment of strikes in their featherweight bout at the UFC Apex.

In the opening moments of the second round, Garcia (21-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Costa (14-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC) engaged in a scramble, at which point Garcia dropped Costa with a knee and right hand. From there, Garcia moved all in for the finish with an array of punches, hammerfists and elbows, which bloodied up Costa.

When Costa could no longer defend himself, referee Chris Tognoni stopped the fight. And that’s when we saw just how discombobulated Costa was from the fight-ending sequence as he tried to take down the ref with a single-leg. To Tognoni’s credit, he hit the switch on Costa to fend him off until the Brazilian fighter came to.

You can watch the finish and immediate aftermath in the video below (via X):

STEVE GARCIA GOT THAT DAWG IN HIM

WHAT A BRUTAL FIGHT ENDING SEQUENCE @DrinkMonaco pic.twitter.com/5eeFjLJGli

— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) December 10, 2023

With the finish, Garcia, a Jackson-Wink MMA product, now has won three fights in a row, including two this year. Costa has alternated one win and two losses in his three UFC appearances.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 233 results include:

• Steve Garcia def. Melquizael Costa via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:01
• Luana Santos def. Stephanie Egger via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Tatsuro Taira def. Carlos Hernandez via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 0:55
• Talita Alencar def. Rayanne Amanda via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.