UFC Fight Night: Melquizael Costa vs Morgan Charriere Preview & Prediction
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Featherweights take centre stage for the second fight of the main card, with the streaking Melquizael Costa looking to push his win streak to five against Morgan Charriere.
Melquizael Costa vs Morgan Charriere facts
What time are Melquizael Costa and Morgan Charriere expected to walk out?
Where is UFC Fight Night: Royval vs Kape? UFC Apex, Enterprise, USA
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Royval vs Kape? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night: Royval vs Kape
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Royval vs Kape on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – ESPN+
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Royval vs Kape? UK – TNT Sports subscribers can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and discovery+ / USA – ESPN+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night: Royval vs Kape main card
Brandon Royval vs Manel Kape (Flyweight)
Giga Chikadze vs Kevin Vallejos (Featherweight)
Cesar Almeida vs Cezary Oleksiejczuk (Middleweight)
Melquizael Costa vs Morgan Charriere (Featherweight)
Kennedy Nzechukwu vs Marcus Buchecha (Heavyweight)
King Green vs Lance Gibson Jr. (Catchweight - 160 lb)
UFC Fight Night: Royval vs Kape prelims
Amanda Lemos vs Gillian Robertson (Women’s Strawweight)
Joanderson Brito vs Isaac Thomson (Featherweight)
Neil Magny vs Yaroslav Amosov (Welterweight)
Sean Sharaf vs Steven Asplund (Heavyweight)
Melissa Croden vs Luana Santos (Women’s Bantamweight)
Allen Frye vs Guilherme Pat (Heavyweight)
Jamey-Lyn Horth vs Tereza Bleda (Women’s Flyweight)
Melquizael Costa: Riding a four fight win streak, "The Dalmation" aims to earn himself a shot at the 145 pound rankings
Debuting with a submission defeat to Thiago Moises back in 2023, Melquizael Costa (24-7) has quietly built himself a reputation as one of the better featherweights operating outside of the official 145 pound rankings. A prolific finisher with fifteen stoppages split almost evenly between knockouts and submissions, "The Dalmation" has fought and beaten some of the tougher tests outside of the Top 15 since joining the promotion, earning victories over Christian Rodriguez, Andre Fili, and Julian Erosa. Earning a Performance of the Night winning decision over the aforementioned Erosa last time out, the 29 year old Brazilian hasn't lost since a second round TKO defeat to Steve Garcia almost two years ago.
Morgan Charriere: The former Cage Warriors featherweight champion looks to push his UFC record to 4-2
Owner of a 3-2 UFC record since making the jump from Cage Warriors back in 2023, Morgan Charriere (21-11-1) has scored a Performance bonus in all but one of his UFC bouts to date to underline his all-action credentials. A dynamic striker with thirteen KO victories to his name, the 30 year old Frenchman's loss heavy record might be easy for some fans to scoff at on paper, but it belies the fact that he's actually a really talented fighter. "The Last Pirate" does everything with picture perfect technique and has excellent finishing instincts to render him a multi-dimensional threat wherever the fight takes place. He was last seen in action in July, stopping Nate Landwehr with third round punches at UFC Fight Night Nashville.
Melquizael Costa vs Morgan Charriere prediction
The tight odds reflect the razor close nature of this match up.
On paper, Costa has arguably had the better UFC run to date. Losing to Thiago Moises in his debut has aged extremely poorly, but he's come on in leaps and bounds since then, seemingly improving with every subsequent fight. "The Dalmation" is 5-1 against some really decent fighters and notoriously tough outs since dropping his debut, with his only loss coming against the streaking Steve Garcia prior to his latest four fight win streak.
With that being said, Charriere's only defeats have come against Nathaniel Wood and Chepe Mariscal; a pair of fighters widely regarded as two of the better fighters outside the rankings at 145 pounds. While Costa has proven to be an oppurtunistic finishing threat, "The Last Pirate" hasn't been stopped since the infancy of his career. He's tough as nails and also hits like a truck; Costa is no shrinking violet, but he does have two knockout losses on his record to date.
However, while Charriere could well land something brutal to bring "The Dalmation's" streak screeching to halt, Costa's more well-rounded game and relentless pressure figures to be the marginally safer bet here. "The Last Pirate" will have his moments, but the pick is Costa by decision.
Prediction: Melquizael Costa to win by decision
