Melquizael Costa reacted to losing a unanimous decision to Arnold Allen in the main event of UFC Vegas 117 on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Allen knocked Costa down in the first round, and from there it was pretty much smooth sailing for him, as he controlled most of the fight on the feet and on the ground for an unanimous decision win.
With the loss, Costa’s six-fight winning streak was snapped, while Allen got back on track following a defeat to Jean Silva in his last bout.
Melquizael Costa Reacts to Arnold Allen Loss
Following his loss to Allen, Costa took to his social media and issued a statement about his defeat.
“MMA is this: an individual and brutal sport, where only one wins. Tonight belonged to Arnold Allen, no complaints. I’m still ranked and motivated. On to the next one. Thank you to everyone who was cheering for me. We’ll come back stronger!” Costa wrote in a statement on Instagram.
What’s Next for Melquizael Costa?
This loss for Costa is a major setback, as a win over Allen would have vaulted him into the top 10 of the UFC featherweight rankings. Heading into the fight, Costa was ranked No. 12, while Allen was No. 7. Most likely, these two fighters will just stay in the same spot, though they could potentially see minor movement in the rankings.
The problem for Costa is that a win over Allen would have earned him seven straight wins in the UFC and, therefore, a massive fight against a top contender at 145 lbs. He lost, though, so it sets him back in a stacked division where there are tons of other contenders looking for a title shot against UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
For his next bout, look for Costa to fight someone lower down in the rankings, such as Aaron Pico, David Onama, or Patricio Pitbull. If he doesn’t fight someone in the rankings, then Costa will have to fight someone who isn’t ranked. No. 12 is a weird position to be in coming off a loss, as there are far more fighters ahead of you than behind you, but you don’t get to fight up when you lose a clear, five-round decision.
Despite the loss, however, there are some nice takeaways that Costa can walk away with. One, he went five rounds with Allen, who is one of the best featherweights in the sport. Two, he actually outstruck Allen according to the official statistics, landing 100 significant strikes to Allen’s 98. And finally, he showed incredible durability in the bout, as, outside of a first-round knockdown, he didn’t appear to be damaged.
That being said, the biggest issue for Costa was his poor takedown defense. He was taken down seven times by Allen, who held nearly 10 minutes of control time in the fight. If Costa, who is still only 29 years old, plans to make another run up the featherweight rankings, then he is going to need to drastically improve his takedown defense, or else he’ll just get taken down and controlled, as the game plan to beat them has been set out there by Allen.
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