Journey Newson had to look up Randy Costa when he got the call to fight him at UFC Vegas 11.

Newson is coming off a KO win over Domingo Pilarte back at UFC 247. However, it was overturned to a no-contest due to Newson testing positive for marijuana. Although it is a no-contest on his record, the 31-year-old is still viewing it as a win. So, following that quick KO, he expected to get someone with more notoriety than Costa.

“No, he was never on my radar, I didn’t know who Randy Costa was,” Newson said to BJPENN.com. “I hope it will be an exciting fight and bonus worthy as I want that $50,000.”

In the fight, Journey Newson believes the no fans benefit him as after watching tape on Costa, he says he is a crowd-pleaser. He also expects to have a big advantage on the ground if it gets there.

Yet, even if the fight remains standing, Newson is confident in his striking that he will be able to finish Costa wherever the fight goes.

“I’m a brown belt in jiu-jitsu and no one has really seen my ground game other than a tiny bit when I fought Ricardo Ramos. It is good as I want to give as little reads as I can,” Newson explained. “I’m not worried about his ground game. I’m just looking for the openings and capitalize when I can. I think I can finish him though.”

In the end, Journey Newson is confident he will get his hand raised and continue to work his way up the stacked bantamweight division.

“A win here is just continuing to build my momentum. It doesn’t matter who it is against, I’m ready to fight anyone,” he concluded. “It is just up to when my manager calls me with a fight and I accept.”

Do you think Journey Newson will finish Randy Costa as he says at UFC Vegas 11?