Jacob Montalvo is the referee. Ige takes the center, kicks the leg
and then lands a takedown. Costa is right back up as Ige presses
him into the cage. Ige with a shoulder strike from the clinch.
Costa is able to toss Ige to the canvas and then lands a knee to
the body as his foe stands. They’re battling it out in the clinch,
and Costa drives a couple knees to the midsection. Costa with
another knee and then he shoves Ige away. Costa goes high with a
kick, but Ige has his guard up .Another high kick from Costa is
blocked. Costa follows yet another head kick with a front kick down
the middle. Another front kick has hurt Ige, but he keeps his wits
to survive a follow-up barrage from his foe. Costa steps in with an
elbow, then lands a knee as he slides out of range. Ige forces the
clinch, but Costa knees and separates. Costa follows a side kick to
the body with a left hand. A leg kick lands on Ige. Costa backs up
to the fence but leaps in with a knee. With time winding down, Costa drops Ige with a beautiful spinning
back kick to the jaw. Ige covers up on the canvas, and Costa
unloads with about seven to eight standing-to-ground punches before
Montalvo steps in to wave off the fight. Costa has his
sixth straight UFC win and in the process becomes the first person
to finish Ige in 30 professional fights.

Finally settling on a suitable—and spectacular—nickname, Costa
(24-7, 5-2 UFC) now goes by “The Dalmatian” rather than some
version of his name or a riff on some inside joke no one gets. He
faces an equally dramatic traveler, Charriere (21-11-1, 3-2 UFC),
who used to go by the nickname of “Luffy” in honor of the main
character from anime series “One Piece.” There will be no Gum Gum
attacks in the cage as long as referee Eric McMahon is in charge.
The featherweights race towards one another, not bothering to touch
gloves as Costa moves right to the center of the cage. Costa pitches out a low kick and then one to the liver, the latter
landing loudly. Charriere kicks him back, resulting in a
back-and-forth kick-off. Costa aims a push kick to the knee of his
foe, and he splits the guard with a jab. Out of nowhere, “The Dalmatian” drops down and hurls a missile of a
high kick, who falls to the floor off-balance. Before he hits the
deck, his foot wraps just around the guard enough to completely
separate Charriere from his senses. Even with Charriere blocking
it, the sheer impact was enough to completely neutralize
him. Charriere collapses to his back, limbs seemingly
stricken by rigor mortis, his eyes wide open but no one is home.
Costa scoots back up to his feet and is about to drop down a
punctuating blow, but he peels off seeing that his work here is
done. After a very brief celebratory hoot, Costa drops to his knees
in the center of the cage respectfully as he waits for Charriere to
recover. Thankfully, Charriere sits up and is able to return to his
feet before long, but he needs to be assisted out of the cage with
someone having their arm around him. It is an emotional moment for
the pink and blue-haired featherweight who may have just earned the
biggest win of his career in ultra-violent fashion.

Although much can be said about the state of UFC matchmaking as of
late, the promotion knew exactly what it was doing when it matched
Erosa (31-11, 9-7 UFC) against Costa (23-7, 4-2 UFC). It chose
violence. The featherweights will go for broke under the watchful
eye of referee Herb Dean, and they get right to it after embracing
the formality of bumping fists. Costa prods with the ball of his
foot, looking for low kicks as Erosa walks him down. Costa keeps
working on the front leg as Erosa gives him one back, and Erosa
grabs his foe’s foot and lifts it up. Costa bounces off the fence
to get his limb back, and he whiffs on two hooks. Costa scores a
body kick as he stays on the outside, and after pitching a leg
kick, he trips on the edge of the cage but does not fall over.
Erosa lets him get up and continues to trade kicks with him, and
Costa mixes things up with a surprise Superman punch. Costa follows
it with a booming head kick that rocks “Juicy J,” who backs off to
the fence but is still dangerous as a coiled snake. Costa walks
forward to throw bombs, and Erosa snipes him with a mean right hand
that makes him think twice. Erosa gets his legs back beneath him
and blocks a head kick, walking Costa down but taking three punches
on the chin to do so. Erosa fakes a spin and lunges forward with an
elbow, slipping and falling over. Costa lets him up so he can leap
at him with a knee, and he chains punches into a body kick as Erosa
is now the one retreating. Costa parries a few punches and lets fly
a left hand, and his second effort reaches his man. Costa wraps a
head kick around the guard and Erosa shrugs it off, nailing Costa
with a right hand over the top. Erosa jumps at his foe to attack,
and Costa times a spinning back kick that pounds into the cup.
Erosa grumbles and adjusts his groin supporter before waving Dean
off. Costa lets his foe’s fists and feet whiz past him so he can
deliver a hard body kick, and Erosa fakes his way in to take the
fight down. Erosa whips Costa all the way around to take him down,
and he slashes down with an elbow as soon as he gets to side
control. Costa is warned for having his toes in the cage, and Erosa
drops down a few punches and leans back to watch an upkick buzz
past him at the bell. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Costa Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Costa Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Costa

Costa’s left foot is leaking blood as the second round begins, but
he shrugs it off and touches gloves with his opponent. Erosa gets
right into attack mode, firing off a head kick and a right hand but
getting countered with a left and a body kick. Costa belts “Juicy
J” with a left hand, and Erosa bites down on his mouthpiece to
unload a power punch. Costa shakes Erosa up with a one-two, and
Erosa again has to recover before coming forward. The punches of
Costa make Erosa pursue a takedown, and Costa defends with a
guillotine choke and stands back up to re-secure it. Erosa holds on
and leverages Costa back down, but he in submission danger again.
Costa lets go before burning his arms out, and he stands up. Erosa
leans on from behind, his left eye swelling up fast. Costa defends
a takedown effort and keeps his balance, stomping Erosa’s foot and
receiving an elbow in the face for his effort. As Erosa is leaning
heavily on his man, Costa sweeps his leg and puts him down for a
second. Erosa climbs back up and walks through a one-two. Costa
reaches the Washington native at the end of a left hand, and Erosa
fires back with a vengeance. They reach one another with long
punches, and instead of clinching, Erosa pushes off and shrugs at
him. Costa lines up a solid crescent kick that hits the target, and
Erosa goes for broke with punches and kicks to any target he can
find. Erosa pokes Costa in the eye, and Costa tells them he is fine
and keeps going. Erosa thanks him by drilling a spinning back kick
in his ribs, and Costa laughs it off and throws hammers. Erosa
staggers Costa with a pair of hooks, and a grinning Costa swings
back with bad intentions and rocks Erosa. Erosa spins through to
hit Costa in the face with his foot, and he knocks Costa across the
cage with a left hand right before the horn sounds. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Erosa Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Costa Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Costa

While Erosa does touch gloves, he is a man on a mission. Walking
Costa down immediately, he swings his way into a clinch. Erosa
leans on the Brazilian to slow him down, getting off the occasional
knee until Costa trips him and sets him down. Erosa responds by
nailing Costa with an upkick and working his way to his feet, where
he backs “Melk” off and dislodges his mouthpiece with a right hand.
He follows with another right hand to lead into a clinch, and Costa
backs off with a left hook. The two clash heads after Erosa lands
an uppercut, and “Juicy J” pours it on while swinging wildly.
Costa’s head movement keeps him relatively safe, and he blasts
Erosa in the jaw with four punches in a combination. Erosa’s
movement leads him to banging into the fence, but he is quick to
shake it off and uppercut Costa in the chops. Erosa continues
staying in Costa’s face, with punches that lead to an elbow as
Costa is backing off but smiling. Erosa lines up punches in
bunches, and his elbows are not accurate. They proceed to brawl it
out with little regard to defense or cardio, and even though Costa
is fatigued, he is still loading up with everything he has.
Thankfully for those watching this carnage, Erosa is doing just the
same, as they proceed to hammer one another in the jaw again and
again. Costa trips Erosa up to get a second to breathe, and he
backs off to avoid an upkick and let Erosa stand. Erosa marches
ever forward, swinging recklessly while Costa is giving it back
when he can. Costa takes several punches square on the jaw and
offers up a knee, and Erosa spins with a back fist. A second and
third back fist from Erosa do manage to rail into the Brazilian,
who is as tough as nails and never falters. The action-packed
“Fight of the Night” candidate goes the distance, and both
exhausted men raise their arms. The second round may be where the
victor emerges. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Erosa (29-28 Erosa) Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Costa (29-28 Costa) Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Costa (29-28 Costa)

If the UFC isn’t careful, a fight might break out in the cage with
this next one. Having bounced back from his first career stoppage
loss well enough, Rodriguez (12-2, 5-2 UFC) is looking to put
himself on another win streak. To get that going, he will have to
get past the recently renamed “Melk Cauthy” Costa (22-7, 3-2 UFC),
a name more in line with Costa’s preference for the knockout—or,
nocaute. Fists are bumped before they are traded, as the
featherweights are joined in the Octagon by referee Fernando Salas
Navarro. Costa pump-fakes several times to get started, setting up
a high kick with it that does not get through. His low kicks do
trip up Rodriguez, who hits his knees and bounces back up to tie
Costa up against the wall. Rodriguez peppers the ribs with knees on
either sides, and Costa responds with short punches to the side of
the dome when not fighting to keep his balance. A body lock and
trip from Rodriguez allows him to get Costa down for a
split-second, only to have to settle for pushing Costa against the
wire again. They jockey for position against the wire, and
Rodriguez sells out to drag Costa down to the floor as they hit the
ground together. They spring right back upright while still in the
tie-up, with Costa stomping the toes and kneeing the body. Costa
softens the side up with several punches, and Rodriguez finally
hits the sweep he was looking for and puts Costa down. Costa gets
back up as fast as he can, and he keeps his hand on the ground to
defend himself from knees to the head. Rodriguez suddenly snatches
up a brabo choke and twirls Costa around, and the Brazilian does
not panic in the slightest and not only escapes it, but flips
Rodriguez over to establish top position. Costa attacks the body
with elbows, and when Rodriguez explodes back upright, Costa chases
him with a single strike before the horn sounds to end the close
round. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Costa Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez

Rodriguez is the initial aggressor in the round, taking it to Costa
with punches and kicks. Costa pushes off with the ball of his foot,
sending Rodriguez down to the mat for a second. Rodriguez jumps
back up, elbows Costa in the noggin and initiates the clinch. Costa
breaks free and plants a body kick on the side of his foe, and a
second comes up short. Rodriguez jabs his way into a right hand,
and Costa counters him with a clean right that drops Rodriguez to
his knees. Rodriguez regains his footing and clinches heavily, and
he fights off a sweep attempt and turns to avoid a slashing elbow
when back tied up. They continue to deliver short strikes to one
another, and Rodriguez lands his foot sweep and places Costa on his
back. Costa returns upright after a second, where he re-engages in
a clinch. Rodriguez ducks down for a level change, and Costa knees
Rodriguez in the side of the head and hurts him badly. Rodriguez
scrambles to try to keep himself in the fight and not taking much
more damage, and he lets Costa’s punches rebound off his guard.
Costa wraps up an unusual arm-in guillotine choke from the side,
partially a bulldog choke, and Rodriguez stays composed and twists
out of it. Costa throws Rodriguez to his back, blood streaming down
the left eye of “CeeRod,” and he postures up to jack Rodriguez up
with elbows and punches. Rodriguez attempts a guillotine off his
back to stop Costa from hitting him, but Costa breaks out of it and
drops down more strikes including an axe kick to the chest before
the bell. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Costa Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Costa Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Costa

Rodriguez races out of his corner to engage, where he kicks his way
into close range and sets up a trip. “CeeRod” hits the sweep—the
same one he has been attempting the whole fight—and Costa finds
himself on his back playing jiu-jitsu. The Brazilian looks for a
kimura in hopes of sweeping, and although he takes a clean elbow on
the melon, he turns the tables on Rodriguez and takes his back
standing. They continue to roll and twist, and Rodriguez keeps
Costa tied up and bullies him to the fencing. Rodriguez uses his
elbows to fluster Costa from up close when not looking for another
sweep, and he takes Costa off his feet for a moment. Costa climbs
back up, elbows his foe in the chin and frames off to take a
breath. Rodriguez is quick to impose his weight on him, and he
trips Costa up again for good measure. Costa stands and avoids an
elbow that soars at him, and he gets pulled back to the floor.
Rodriguez tries to take his back, and he slides off. “CeeRod” races
back to his feet and rails Costa with a right hand, stunning him
for a moment and giving him openings to find more punches and a
step-in knee. Costa pushes off with a front kick, and Rodriguez
shrugs at him. Costa knees him again, but not before getting
clipped with a barrage of punches. Costa whiffs on a two-punch
flurry and hits his back from an easy foot sweep from Rodriguez.
Rodriguez sits up in the guard and drops down hammers, with Costa
faded just enough to not offer resistance to force a standup.
Rodriguez rains down a bombardment of hammerfists, including one
raised from the ceiling all the way to the floor, and the crowd is
loving it. Rodriguez keeps hammering away, and Costa survives to
make it the distance. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez (29-28 Rodriguez) Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez (29-28 Costa) Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Rodriguez (29-28 Rodriguez)

A veritable chasm of UFC-level experience separates the next two
featherweights, with grizzled Team Alpha Male product Fili (24-11,
1 NC; 12-10, 1 NC UFC) looking to hold the line and remind folks he
is still very much a factor. Like Fili, Costa’s (21-7, 2-2 UFC)
tenure thus far has been somewhat inconsistent but fairly violent.
Referee Jeff Hoiby draws the charge between the two, and the local
man Fili has no time for a glove touch as he wants to get going
immediately. Fili chases his foe around the cage, looking for his
jab. Costa backs him off briefly with a pair of high kicks, and he
doubles up on leg kicks as well. Fili walks through everything
pitched at him to sling leather, including a right left hand that
zips through his guard. “Let’s go Fili” chants boom through the
building, and they both fire off head kicks. Fili’s gets his foe’s
attention, with Costa smiling at him. They decide to throw caution
to the wind for a moment and brawl with no interest in defense, and
they tag one another cleanly but do not budge. Costa backs off and
fires off a wheel kick, and he settles himself to chop at the
Washington-based fighter’s knee with oblique kicks. Costa rips a
kick to the ribs as Fili is marching ever forward, and he narrowly
evades getting his chin checked with a low kick but still walks
into a left hook. Fili blocks a high kick but cannot stop a body
kick, and he plods forward, energized by “USA” chants. Fili whiffs
on a head kick, unable to lock his foe down, and he brushes his
shoulder when Costa misses as well. Fili blocks a kick and hurls
one right back, and Costa breathes a sight of relief and strikes
back with a high kick. Fili motions that he protected himself from
it, and Costa stays on his bike prodding with oblique kicks. Fili
connects with a heavy body kick, dodges one that comes back and
makes a matador motion. Fili takes a kick and shoots in for a
takedown, and when he hits it, Costa wraps up a guillotine choke and wrenches with all his might.
The Brazilian clings to the choke, which is not going anywhere as
he has it tight as a drum with his right leg wrapped around Fili’s
waist. Fili is fine until suddenly he is not, and he frantically
taps out. The stunned audience is silenced in a
second, as the hometown fighter surrenders from the submission and
walks off disappointed that he got caught. Meanwhile, Costa has
just earned the biggest win of his career, and he goes off to
celebrate with teammate Joanderson Brito who previously put Fili
away in the first round.

The prelims continue with a featherweight contest featuring two men
with plenty of experience despite their young ages. At 27, Costa
(20-7, 1-2 UFC) is attempting to even his UFC record to .500, while
the 30-year-old Shayilan (39-11, 3-2 UFC) aims to make his 51st pro
outing a successful one. The third man in the Octagon will be
referee Mike Beltran, and the fight kicks off with no plan of a
glove touch. Costa jabs his way forward and tosses out a low kick,
and Shayilan hops out of the way. Costa kicks low a second time,
and Shayilan counters him with a long right hand. Costa lazily
reaches out with a right hand, and Shayilan ducks it and hits an
easy double-leg takedown to put the vibrantly haired featherweight
on his back. Costa turns to his side and looks for a kimura sweep,
and he cranks on the submission from his back. “Wolverine” is calm,
cool and collected, and he shrugs off the two-on-one wrist lock to
keep his arm in good position. Before he burns his arms out, Costa
lets go, and he explodes back to his knees and to his feet.
Shayilan hits a quick mat return and loops as hook in to take
Costa’s back standing. Costa leans himself against the cage wall,
so Shayilan snags the body lock and hurls Costa to the floor. Costa
climbs back up, and Shayilan uses sheer muscle to toss Costa down
once more. Costa turns quickly to swirl around and take the Chinese
fighter’s back, and Shayilan counters with a kneebar out of
nowhere. Costa defends the leglock by pulling on Shayilan’s knee to
try to free his limb, and he stands up and punches down to force
the submission apart. Shayilan sits up and attacks a double, and he
presses Costa against the cage when he cannot ground him. Using a
trip, Shayilan chucks Costa to the mat, and Costa rolls through and
even threatens briefly with his own leglock before Shayilan turns
through it. Shayilan climbs on top, and Costa responds with short
elbows. As Costa is warned for striking the back of the head, the
round comes to a close. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Shayilan Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Shayilan Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Shayilan

Costa moves right to the center of the cage to start the round, and
he walks down Shayilan and pushes out a front kick that is just
short of the intended target. Shayilan pursues a level change while
Costa kicks at him, and he succeeds in dumping the Brazilian to the
floor. Shayilan steps into the guard and thumps his man with an
elbow, and Costa replies with a few off his back before rolling to
try to get hold of an armlock using his legs. Costa bursts out of
the position flat on his back to turn to the side, and he grabs
hold of an ankle and trips Shayilan up to put him on his seat.
Costa drags Shayilan away from the cage, and Shayilan times this
explosion to flip around and get on Costa’s back. Costa stands up
and turns to shed the Chinese fighter from his back, and they
settle for a clinch. Shayilan shoots deep for a single, and Costa
turns the corner to stuff it and somehow get hold of Shayilan.
Costa ends up dragging Shayilan down from behind, and he wriggle
his left arm around the chin for a moment. Shayilan defends the
submission and turns all the way through to reestablish top
position. Costa considers a triangle choke setup, but Shayilan
tosses it aside. Costa uses this moment to power back to his feet,
and Shayilan remains stuck on him like fly paper. Costa works the
body with a few knees, and he is forced to stop a sudden level
change. Shayilan fails on a second takedown try, and he takes a
high kick upside the head that draws an immediate lump by the side
of his eye. The round ends. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Shayilan Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Costa Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Costa

The last round kicks off with Costa throwing single kicks one after
the other. Shayilan parries them and circles away from the power,
and he ducks a head kick that zips past him. Costa scores a body
kick and eats a two-punch combo for his effort, and attacks the
body a second time. Shayilan drops all the way down to the ankle to
try to trip Costa up, but Costa turns him over and bowls the
Chinese fighter to the floor. Shayilan explodes back to his knees,
and Costa hangs on from behind before dragging Shayilan down and
getting both hooks in. “Melk” uses a fierce rear-naked choke grip, squeezing it on top of
the chin, but it is extremely tight and quite dangerous. Shayilan’s
eyes go wide, as he is surprised at just how powerful the face
crank is from the Brazilian. Using palm-to-palm grip, he crushes
the submission with every remaining bit of his energy. Rather than grit it out, Shayilan decides to tap with his fist a
few times. This is a huge win for Costa, who now celebrates a
perfectly even distribution of victory: seven knockouts, seven
submissions and seven decisions. This also marks the seventh time
that Shayilan has been submitted.

The predominant method of victory for these two fighters—now
competing at lightweight due to the short-notice nature of their
rescheduled pairing—is the knockout. Referee Chris Tognoni should
don his hard hat before going out against these two sluggers. “Mean
Machine” Garcia (14-5, 3-2 UFC) has performed his last six
victories via strikes, while LFA vet Costa (20-6, 1-1 UFC) has
earned two of his last three wins by knockout. Before the fists
fly, they meet together in a sporting manner. Garcia springs
forward, but he pulls back before engaging. On his second advance,
Garcia throws caution to the wind, winging big punches. Costa
shimmies to the side and allows Garcia to push past him, and he
hooks his leg around Garcia’s and tries to drag him down to the
floor. Costa elects to lift Garcia up and slam him to the mat, but
“Mean Machine” moves back up to his feet quickly. Costa clings to
Garcia from behind relentlessly, and Garcia tries to defend with
no-look elbows. Costa knees Garcia in the backside and upper thigh
as he pressures his man, and Garcia responds with elbows on the
thigh. Costa whips Garcia to a knee, and Garcia considers grabbing
the fence but at the last second just points at it. Costa forces
his man down to a knee again, but Garcia springs up with no ill
effects. Costa continues to embrace the grind from behind, shutting
down any offense from Garcia and forcing him to spend energy in
strange exchanges. When Costa looks to get a hook in, Garcia shucks
it off. Costa peppers with knees until scooping Garcia up and
dumping him down once more. Garcia powers back upright, and he
wiggles and wriggles but cannot escape. Costa trips Garcia out but
is unable to keep him grounded for more than a second, and he stays
in this position until the bell. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Costa Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Costa Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Costa

Garcia comes out of his corner angrily, and he swings violently and
connects with a few of his shots. Costa responds as the two engage
in a mad brawl, with punches and elbows flailing in all directions.
Garcia wings a left and a right, catching Costa and knocking him
down to the canvas. “Mean Machine” follows him to the mat and
drives down a vicious elbow, splitting Costa wide open, and Costa
is in a bad way. Garcia smashes his man with fists and sharp
elbows, and blood sprays around the canvas. Costa turns over and
gives up his back, and Garcia snatches up a rear-naked choke.
Perhaps due to the blood flow, Costa is able to slide out of the
choke and turns to his back. Garcia postures up, in full mount, and he demolishes “Melky” with
three ruthless elbows. Tognoni halts the fight, with Costa out or
very nearly out. When Garcia dismounts his defeated
adversary, Costa tries to take Tognoni down, and he is deep in on a
single. Tognoni displays excellent takedown defense as officials
flood the cage, with one very loud shouting at Costa to wake him
back up. Costa realizes that he is trying to take down a referee
and that the fight is over, and he surrenders.

LFA veterans will come to blows in a featherweight affair that
could be fast and furious for as long as it lasts. Fortis MMA’s
Lingo (9-2, 2-2 UFC) and Brazilian Costa (19-6, 0-1 UFC) are equal
opportunity finishers, so anything may be in play coming next.
Referee Keith Peterson is ready for wherever the fight may take
them unless it involves nonsense, and he sits back as they come
together without bothering to touch gloves. Lingo is the initial
aggressor, making the blue-haired Costa backpedal quickly. Costa
looks for a step-in knee, and when Lingo swings at him, Costa’s
head comes up and bumps Lingo in the chin. Lingo shakes it off and
blocks a front kick, and he races forward throwing left hooks.
Costa retaliates with a left hand and a leg kick, and the latter is
checked. Costa springs in with a right hand, and Lingo sends him
back into the cage wall with a left hand. Costa scores a low kick
and a body kick, and Lingo drops his guard when the latter slams
home. Costa sneaks in a left, and Lingo grits his teeth and tags
Cost with two punches. Costa works the body with another kick, and
he spins with a back kick that is just out of range. Lingo rushes
forward and loads up with a left to the body, and he proceeds to
muscle Costa to the floor. Costa jumps back up and eats a jab, and
he unloads with a head kick. Costa pierces the guard with a jab to
bloody up the nose, and he slams his shin on the midsection. Costa
sticks Lingo with a left hand, and his body kick doubles Lingo
over. Lingo bounces off the wall, and Costa knows he has his man
hurt. Costa loads up on two more body kicks, and Lingo is wearing
it. Costa kicks high when Lingo has his guard down, and Lingo is
tough and wears the strikes well enough to keep going. Lingo slings
a big right hand, only to walk into a knee to the midsection. Costa
works him over with another kick to the ribs, and he is feeling
himself as he spins with a back kick. Lingo’s body language is not
great as the kicks continue to break his body down, but he still
throws hands. Costa jabs his toes in the sternum, smacks “Lights
Out” with a high kick and then spins with a wheel kick that slaps
off the raised guard. Lingo jabs his way in and still absorbs a
body kick, and he takes a flush head kick right on the beard. Lingo
crowds his man with a combination, and he is pushed away and
kicked. Costa spins with one last kick to the body, and his wheel
kick misses at the bell. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Costa Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Costa Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Costa

The featherweights are ready and rearing to go, rushing out of
their corners to get the hostilities started again. Lingo swats
away a leg kick, and when he comes forward with a left hand, Costa
is there with a left hook and a shin to the chin. Lingo blocks a
kick and evades a spinning one, and he pressures Costa and gets off
a jab. Costa jabs him back, and the two trade leg kicks. Lingo
reaches out with an overhand right that brushes off the nose, and
Costa unloads with a leg kick that forces Lingo to turn around
awkwardly. Costa reaches out with a right hand, and he uses it to
disallow Lingo from reaching him. Costa doubles up on body kicks,
and Lingo shakes his head at him. Lingo turns his hips into a high
leg kick, and he jabs only to eat a left hook. Lingo doubles up a
jab only to eat a kick to the breadbasket, and Costa is able to tee
off on him at range. Costa goes high with a shin, and he stabs his
toes to the liver. Costa kicks the liver and absorbs a flush jab,
and a straight left hand that follows drops Costa to his knees.
Lingo lets him back up and strikes him in the face a few times, but
Costa gathers his thoughts, shakes his head and kicks Lingo in the
ribs. Costa’s nose bleeds, and he sways back from an overhand right
and brushes his shoulder. The two crash together in the pocket and
throw bombs, and Costa slips back and pushes out a straight left.
Costa kicks the lead leg, the side, and lines a straight left hand
down Broadway. Lingo is shaken up but still very much in the fight,
as he throws a hammer back. Costa drives another kick home to the
body, and Lingo belts him in the chin with a left hook. Lingo digs
a right to the body, and he is answered by a kick to the side.
Costa slides a kick upside the head, and Lingo completely no-sells
it so that he can blitz forward with his own short barrage of
punches. Costa jumps with a knee, and Lingo watches it land as he
sits down on a right hand. They both smack each other with hooks,
and Costa spins with a kick to the body as the round ends. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Costa Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Costa Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Costa

The two have reached the last round, and Lingo pushes the pace
immediately. Walking straight into and through a few body kicks,
Lingo nevertheless comes forward and lines up his left hand. Costa
counters with a takedown, and Lingo shoves him away and tags him
with a right hand. Costa slides to the side and kicks the ribs, and
he trips Lingo to the floor when they tie up. Lingo fights his way
up and thwarts a second toss so that he can give chase and chamber
his right hook. Costa backpedals and kicks the side, and he doubles
up on it as Lingo bends over to try to block the worst of it. Lingo
jabs the body and keeps his guard up high to defend against a spin
kick to his face. Costa parries a Lingo swarm and kicks Lingo in
the face, and Lingo’s toughness is off the charts as he does not
seem fazed from the head or body work. Lingo overswings with a
right hand, and Costa tackles him to the ground from behind. Lingo
sits up, and Costa threatens by looping his arms under the armpits
of his opponent. Lingo stops a rear-naked choke and subsequent
kimura try to work back to his feet, and Costa drags him right back
down from behind. “Melk” snatches up a rear-naked choke from behind
while he hops on the back, and Lingo leans over and tries to shimmy
Costa off of him. Costa is too heavy to do this, and he pressures
Lingo to his knees. Costa leans back and snags hold of the
rear-naked choke he was seeking, but Lingo instantly falls to his
back and lowers his chin to defend from it. Lingo gets out of the
choke and turns to his back, and he pushes off Costa’s chest. Costa
bullies him down as Lingo turns to his knees, but Lingo is still
able to stand. Costa tries to trip him down, and Lingo looks at the
clock which says 40 seconds remaining. The Brazilian slings Lingo
to his seat, and Lingo jumps back up. Costa drops down for a
guillotine choke, and Lingo rolls to his side to defend it
properly. Lingo gives the thumbs-up with the choke not securely
fastened, and the fight ends in this position. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Costa (30-27 Costa) Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Costa (30-27 Costa) Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Costa (30-27 Costa)

On short notice, Moises (16-6, 5-4 UFC) will draw a drastically
different face than his expected opponent of Guram Kutateladze.
Instead, he will welcome fellow countryman and LFA vet Costa (19-5,
0-0 UFC) to the organization. Only this fight and the next one
feature two combatants both from Brazil, and they are because of
late replacements like the extremely excited “Melk.” The
lightweight matchup will be officiated by referee Osiris Maia, and
the cage is sealed despite a touch of gloves from the combatants.
Moises lands an early leg kick, and Costa is giddy to be fighting
in the UFC. Costa scores a front kick down the middle, and he pulls
back from a head kick to land one on the knee. A second front kick
from Costa lands cleanly, and he blocks a high kick right in time.
Moises drops down low for a takedown, and Costa defends it before
it can get secured. Moises jumps right back up and absorbs a stomp
kick on the kneecap. Moises punches his way into a takedown effort,
and this too fails as Costa defends and backs himself up to the
wall. Moises opts to go after a body lock with a trip on the
inside, and he even lifts Costa up momentarily, but he cannot put
the newcomer on his back. Costa stays upright and fights off the
tries, but Moises remains tightly pressed to him. The crowd begins
to voice its displeasure at Moises’ approach, until it succeeds and
Moises lands on top. Costa keeps a butterfly guard to push on the
hips and eject Moises from claiming top control, but this
eventually falls through as Moises brushes past it. Costa nearly
gives up his back as he scrambles, but he turns back over and
returns to using his feet and lower legs to push off Moises’ hips.
Moises looks to pass guard as Costa hangs on tight from below, and
Moises is unable advance. Costa sits up and works his way to his
feet without falling into danger, and even dodges a knee on the way
back. Costa smiles and offers a glove touch, and the calm Moises
takes it. Costa absorbs a low kick, and he spins Andy Hug-style to
kick his opponent’s thigh. At the very last second, they trade
heavy punches, and the horn sounds before either man gets hurt. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Moises Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Moises Scottie Smith scores the round: 10-9 Moises

The second round opens as the two meet in the middle, and he smiles
at Moises as he lands a kick. Moises fires of a head kick that
Costa dodges back, and Moises crashes forward to take the fight
down. Costa posts off both arms, scrambles effectively and gets
right back to his feet, and he begins to pepper Moises with kicks.
Moises steps in with a solid right hand, and Costa shakes it off
and looks for more kicks to the knee. Moises rushes from afar, and
this time, the takedown he secures is much easier to land. Costa
still uses butterfly hooks, but Moises is much more able to pass
through it now. Moises keeps his own knee on Costa’s, pinning his
leg down and opening him up for some left hands. Costa works his
way to get back to half guard as Moises drives down an elbow, and
the elbow splits open the side of Costa’s head. Costa does not seem
concerned as he grabs hold of a two-on-one wrist lock to roll
Moises over, but Moises keeps top control and opens up with more
ground-and-pound. A few left hands from Moises break open Costa’s
cauliflower ear, and blood begins to flow from multiple points of
the newcomer’s head. Moises continues to slam his fists on the side
of the head, and Costa muscles his way up and gives up his back in
the process. Moises drags him back down, and he secures the body lock. As he
fastens his legs around the waist, Moises slides his around the
chin with a rear-naked choke grip. The forearm squeezes down on the
jaw, and Costa is in big trouble even though his air and blood
streams are not restricted. So his jaw does not break, Costa
surrenders from the face crank, putting an end to a
spirited but ultimately unsuccessful promotional debut.

Melquizael Costa

Fight History

Fighter Skills Radar

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Striking Profile

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Grappling Profile

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Conclusions Summary