LAS VEGAS – Nikolay Veretennikov met the media Saturday after his win over Niko Price at UFC Fight Night 266.

Veretennikov (14-7 MMA, 2-3 UFC) took out Price (16-10 MMA, 8-10 UFC) with a standing TKO in the first round on the prelims at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.

Veretennikov had dropped three of his first four UFC fights coming in, so he might have been on the chopping block with a loss. Instead, he got his first stoppage win in the UFC, and it came with a $ 25,000 finish bonus.

A standing TKO, many times, is the result of a proverbial car crash in the cage, with the two fighters swinging with more wild abandon than precision. But Veretennikov said in this case, it was all part of the plan.

With several perfectly placed punches with Price against the fence, plus a knee and an elbow, Price was out on his feet.

"We worked on these shots in camp," Veretennikov said at his post-fight news conference. "It's not just shots that came out of nowhere – they were specifically the shots we worked on in camp. … These are the shots we worked and worked and worked. What you saw in there was not spontaneous. It was the result of hard work, my technique, my strategy, and what to place and when."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Fight Night 266: Veretennikov says standing TKO of Price no fluke