Tag: Alessandro Costa

Alessandro Costa out against Matt Schnell, who meets replacement Cody Durden at UFC Fight Night 242

Alessandro Costa suffered a shoulder injury, but all is not lost at UFC Fight Night 242.

(Editor’s note: A previous version of this story only reported on Costa being injured and out.)

UFC Fight Night 242 has lost one of its best bouts on paper, but all is not lost.

A flyweight scrap between [autotag]Alessandro Costa[/autotag] and [autotag]Matt Schnell[/autotag] has been pulled from Saturday’s event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas after Costa (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) suffered a shoulder injury. Stepping in to fight Schnell on just five days’ will be [autotag]Cody Durden[/autotag] (16-6-1 MMA, 5-4-1 UFC).

Schnell (16-8 MMA, 6-6 UFC) first broke the news online Monday night of Costa’s injury, and MMA Junkie later confirmed the injury with Costa on Tuesday. Durden confirmed to MMA Junkie that he is replacing Costa after sharing a post on X.

https://twitter.com/cody_durden/status/1831056424904077356

Costa revealed to MMA Junkie that he will need physical therapy to rehabilitate his shoulder and hopes to be able to return in a few weeks.

Costa was hoping to build momentum off his TKO win over Kevin Borjas back in May. The Brazilian, who trains with Diego Lopes in Puebla, Mexico, is 2-1 in his past three bouts, with the lone defeat coming against former UFC title challenger Steve Erceg.

Schnell will look to snap a two-fight skid. He was knocked out in his most recent bout in March against Erceg. Durden also is coming off back-to-back losses after he was TKO’d by Bruno Gustavo da Silva on July 20.

With the change, here is the updated UFC Fight Night 242 card:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

  • Gilbert Burns vs. Sean Brady
  • Jessica Andrade vs. Natalia Silva
  • Steve Garcia vs. Kyle Nelson
  • Yanal Ashmouz vs. Trevor Peek
  • Chris Padilla vs. Rong Zhu

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)

  • Ovince Saint Preux vs. Ryan Spann
  • Isaac Dulgarian vs. Brendon Marotte
  • Felipe dos Santos vs. Andre Lima
  • Gabriel Santos vs. Yi Zha
  • Jaqueline Amorim vs. Vanessa Demopoulos
  • Dylan Budka vs. Andre Petroski
  • Nathan Fletcher vs. Zygimantas Ramaska

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 242.

Alessandro Costa aims to get clean finish of Matt Schnell, earn spot in UFC flyweight rankings

Alessandro Costa is looking to make his mark in the UFC before the year is over.

[autotag]Alessandro Costa[/autotag] sees himself as a big player in the UFC flyweight division. Soon, he believes he’ll prove that to the world.

Costa (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) returns to the cage Sept. 7 in Las Vegas to face [autotag]Matt Schnell[/autotag] – one of the most seasoned fighters in the 125-pound division. Costa believes a win over Schnell (16-8 MMA, 6-6 UFC) should be more than enough to get him in the official UFC rankings, especially if he gets a stoppage.

“Of course, I’m fighting for a spot in the rankings,” Costa told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I believe he’s ranked 11 or 12. Either way, that’s a good position. I’m sure that if I beat him, I will enter the rankings.

“I just have my doubts about the position – whether it will be top 15 or top 10. But I’m confident that, with a win, I’ll enter the rankings, which is my goal for this year. That’s what I had planned. I wanted to train well, make smart moves and not take that many short-notice fights and enter the rankings, so in the future I can fight for the title.”

Costa is 2-1 in his past three outings, with his lone loss coming in a close decision against former UFC title challenger Steve Erceg. In his most recent outing back in May, Costa picked up a second-round TKO over Peru’s Kevin Borjas.

He’s confident he can keep the momentum going and also put away Schnell.

“He’s a tough and very experienced fighter in the UFC, but we’ve also noticed that he has many holes in his game, and I’m going to take advantage of that so I can look for the knockout or submission due to those holes,” Costa explained. “Of course, he’s dangerous, as well. He’s shown that in his fights. He’s someone that exposes himself but is also very dangerous. We put together a good strategy for his style, and I’m confident in my plan.”

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Alessandro Costa thinks ‘people are starting to know who I am’ ahead of UFC Fight Night bout vs. Matt Schnell

With four UFC fights under his belt, Alessandro Costa is ready to break out and prove he can something special in the flyweight division.

[autotag]Alessandro Costa[/autotag] thinks he’s finally getting some proper recognition from MMA fans after four octagon appearances, and is now ready to go on a run.

Costa (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has split results so far in his octagon tenure, but following a second-round TKO of Kevin Borjas at UFC 301 in May that earned him Performance of the Night honors, he thinks respect is beginning to get placed on his name.

“I think that my last fight really had people put their eyes on me now,” Costa told MMA Junkie Radio. “I think my last fight got that. I had my debut in the UFC against No. 8, then my second fight was against the No. 10, it was on short notice. I think even in those losses people started to see. I think after the last fight, people started noticing. They know who I am.”

Costa will have the chance to leap forward when he takes on flyweight division staple Matt Schnell (16-8 MMA, 6-6 UFC) at UFC Fight Night on Sept. 7 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It’s his most high-profile fight to date, and Costa intends to make the most of it.

“It’s a good fight for me,” Costa said. “I think people are starting to know who I am in the division.

To hear more from Costa, watch his complete interview with MMA Junkie Radio at UFC X above.

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After UFC 301 TKO win, Alessandro Costa calls for ranked opponent: ‘I’ve proven that I’m at that level’

Alessandro Costa is hoping to draw a top-15 name after his impressive TKO win at UFC 301.

[autotag]Alessandro Costa[/autotag] feels he’s among the top flyweights in the world, and he thinks it’s time to prove that to the UFC.

After stopping Kevin Borjas to win a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus at UFC 301, Costa (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) would like to get a step up in competition. After all, he saw his former rival Steve Erceg, whom Costa lost to in December in a close bout he took on 10 days notice, give a tough outing to the champion Alexandre Pantoja that same night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Costa is confident he’s one of the world’s best and would like to prove that, ideally in August or late summer.

“I think by August I can be ready, and I think a top 15 would be good for me,” Costa told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I think I’ve proven that I’m at that level. When I have a full camp, and I think I showed that this past Saturday, that I’m different.

“I’m a much different fighter with a full camp and I think I have the level to compete with the guys in the ranking. I think I deserve that opportunity. It’s also a chance for me to win and get in the rankings myself.”

Although Costa is 2-2 since joining the UFC in December 2022, but that record may be deceiving. His two losses came in on short notice against Erceg, who just for the title, and Amir Albazi, who’s regarded by many as the No. 1 contender today. Both of Costa’s wins have been finishes and have won Performance of the Night bonuses.

Costa doesn’t see the UFC flyweight title too far into his future. He hopes that this calendar year he gets the opportunities to prove that he’s a legit threat to the belt in the division.

“I know there’s a line, but I honestly don’t think I’m too far,” Costa said when asked about fighting for the title. “I don’t see it being too far with what happened with Steve, that was his fourth fight, and he already fought for the title. Also, just seeing how he did and knowing how I did against him, I don’t think I’m too far. That’s all I have in mind, (the belt). That’s why I say my steps in 2024 are going to be very important.”

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UFC 301 a night to remember for Alessandro Costa: TKO win, $50K bonus, praise from idol Jose Aldo

Alessandro Costa explains why UFC 301 was the ‘complete package’ for his fighting career.

UFC 301 was a special moment in [autotag]Alessandro Costa[/autotag]’s fighting career – one he will remember for the rest of his life.

The UFC flyweight had what he called the “complete package.” He fought for the very first time in his native country of Brazil, got a TKO finish over his opponent Kevin Borjas, earned a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, and received a personal congratulation from his idol [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag].

Life is good for Costa (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC).

But first, before the win, before the bonus money, Costa was just happy to be home. In his late teens, he moved to Puebla, Mexico, to pursue his dream of becoming a fighter and opening an MMA academy with his close friend Diego Lopes. Just fighting in Brazil, where his father and friends would get to watch him fight for the first time, was a treat for him.

“It was incredible, and it was even more than what I expected,” Costa told MMA Junkie in Spanish, reflecting on his first professional fight on home soil. “It was very cool. All the people were behind me. Even at the faceoff, when my opponent walked out, everyone was booing him, and when I came in, everyone kept chanting, ‘You’re going to die.’ So, that kind of support I didn’t expect.

“It made me really happy, and I think that helped me to fight at my best on Saturday.”

Costa opened up the event in a flyweight bout against Peru’s Borjas (9-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC). The Brazilian was coming off a close, competitive decision loss to Steve Erceg, who was fighting for the 125-pound title in the main event of the card.

Costa went out there and dominated Borjas from start to finish. He chopped him down with leg kicks in the second, and then mounted him to finish him with ground-and-pound. The victory got him a Performance of the Night bonus.

“If you look at my fight (where I won a bonus) against Flick, I basically took the same route,” Costa explained. “When I had his back, I thought about submitting him with a rear-naked choke or an armbar, but then I remembered I won the bonus against Flick because of the ground and pound, so I wanted to do the same. I just followed the same steps that took me to my first bonus. I promise you, this whole week I was thinking of the bonus. I wasn’t just fighting to win, I wanted to win the bonus.

“… It got tough for a moment with Michel Pereira and Caio Borralho’s win. When I saw those finishes, I said, ‘Man, there goes my bonus.’ But then, when I was at the hotel, I was already getting ready to sleep when my coach, Pancho, wrote to me saying I had won the bonus. My manager’s wife called me, ‘Hey, you need to come down and celebrate,’ so I jumped out of bed and went and celebrated with everyone.

Things didn’t stop escalating for Costa there. Just when he thought it couldn’t get any better, the following day he fired up a live stream on his Instagram account – and none other than his idol Jose Aldo, who won in his return from retirement in the co-main event of the card. Costa had been fanboying all week over Aldo, and told MMA Junkie it was an honor and dream come true to be fighting on the same card as him.

“Everything was just perfect,” Costa said. “You know how during fight week you’re doing interviews and stuff? UFC put me in a room to do an interview, and he (Aldo) was finishing one, so I had the chance to introduce myself and talk to him. UFC Brazil actually uploaded that video to TikTok. I told him that he was the first fighter I followed when I started training jiu-jitsu and that he was a big inspiration for me. It was a dream come true to meet him and also fight on the same card as him. It was incredible.

“He went in the Instagram live and congratulated me and said, ‘Go, Manaus!’ and he said I was very good and that he’s happy for me. This is one of the best moments of my career, given everything that’s happened. It was the complete package. I’m so thankful, and this motivates me to work even harder. I’m not satisfied, don’t get me wrong, but this just motivates me and makes me really happy.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6mhzP8poJZ/

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UFC 301 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Jose Aldo nets $21k for potential final UFC fight

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 301 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $280,000.

RIO DE JANEIRO – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 301 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $280,000.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 301 took place at Rio Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

The full UFC 301 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Ihor Potieria[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Caio Borralho[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Joanderson Brito[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jack Shore[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Iasmin Lucindo[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Myktybek Orolbai[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Elves Brener[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Drakkar Klose[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Joaquim Silva[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Mauricio Ruffy[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Dione Barbosa[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ernesta Kareckaite[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ismael Bonfim[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Vinc Pichel[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Alessandro Costa[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Kevin Borjas[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $2,920,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $25,657,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

UFC 301 bonuses: The Force is $50,000 strong with Mauricio Ruffy

The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, including one to a debuting lightweight.

The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, including one to a debuting lightweight.

After UFC 301, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in Rio de Janeiro. Check out the winners below.

UFC 301 video: Alessandro Costa chops down Kevin Borjas with leg kicks to set up TKO

Alessandro Costa “kicked” off UFC 301 with a bang when he finished Kevin Borjas, much to the delight of the Rio crowd.

[autotag]Alessandro Costa[/autotag] kicked off UFC 301 quite literally Saturday as he defeated [autotag]Kevin Borjas[/autotag] in the card’s prelim opener.

The TKO stoppage came at 1:35 of Round 2 and began with a series of leg kicks by Costa (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) that killed the lead leg of Borjas (9-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC). The flyweight bout took place at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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With a fast-paced and back-and-forth Round 1 in the bag, the finishing sequence began after the break. Costa found damaging success with leg kicks that sat Borjas down on the canvas. Borjas tried to power through the dead-leg but eventually was swarmed by Costa, who mounted him. A few punches later, the referee saw enough and waved off the fight.

Costa bounces back into the win column as he rebounds from a unanimous decision loss to UFC 301 headliner Steve Erceg in November. The win was his second in the UFC, with his first against Jimmy Flick in June.

Borjas comes up short in his second UFC attempt. He debuted in November and lost a unanimous decision to Joshua Van.

The up-to-the-minute UFC 301 results include:

  • Alessandro Costa def. Kevin Borjas via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:35

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

Alessandro Costa def. Kevin Borjas at UFC 301: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Alessandro Costa’s second-round TKO win over Kevin Borjas at UFC 301.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Alessandro Costa[/autotag]’s second-round TKO win over [autotag]Kevin Borjas[/autotag] at UFC 301 at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro. (Fight and venue photos by Jason Silva, USA Today Sports)

Kevin Borjas: ‘Alessandro Costa is now Mexican … he’ll be fighting as a visitor’ at UFC 301 in Brazil

Why Kevin Borjas thinks the crowd at UFC 301 will favor him and not Brazil’s Alessandro Costa.

Brazil has always been known to be a passionate and fiery crowd when it comes to MMA, and some even think the fans there are wild enough to give their home fighters an edge over their foreign rivals.

From throwing things to the famed ‘Uh, Vai Morrer!’ – “You’re going to die!” in Portuguese – the Brazilian crowd has always been a sight to see when it comes to UFC events. But Peru’s [autotag]Kevin Borjas[/autotag] doesn’t think the home advantage will be at play when he fights [autotag]Alessandro Costa[/autotag] in the opening bout of UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro.

“First of all, Alessandro Costa is now Mexican,” Borjas said when asked bout his opponent in a Spanish interview with MMA Junkie. “He’s now Mexican, and he’ll be fighting as a visitor.

“I’m going to beat him. He’s not superior to me. I’m way better than him, and I’m ready to fight wherever the fight goes. If he takes me down. I’m going to get up and do my job, and that’s it. There won’t be any surprises. There’s nothing that he can do that will surprise me.”

Costa (13-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) never has fought professionally in Brazil. Although he was born and grew up in Manaus, Brazil, Costa moved to Mexico in his late teens to pursue his MMA dream. Alongside UFC star Diego Lopes, Costa opened up an MMA gym in Puebla, Mexico, and began his professional MMA career there. That’s why Borjas (9-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) doesn’t think Costa will have the backing of the Brazilian crowd.

Although Borjas is from Peru, he thinks he’ll have support from the fans come Saturday. His coach, Ivan Iberico from Pitbull Martial Arts Center, is well known in the Brazilian martial asrts community given his long history in training Luta Livre, a Brazilian style of fighting.

“Here in Rio de Janeiro, it’s basically the birthplace of Luta Livre, which is my coach’s expertise. I’m representing Luta Livre and many coaches and people here support me, so I feel right at home. I’m not a visitor here.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.