Alessandro Costa and Diego Lopes are set to once again share a card in the UFC, but that comes with a price.
Lopes, a former UFC title contender at featherweight, headlines Noche UFC versus fellow Brazilian star Jean Silva, and his longtime teammate and friend Costa gets in action on the prelims of the Sept. 13 show in San Antonio, TX, opposite Alden Coria.
“[That has] has pros and cons,” Costa told MMA Fighting. “It seems that I’ll be the third fight of the card so that’s good because I’ll be in Diego’s corner. And the con is that Diego won’t be able to be in my corner.”
Lopes has done that in the past, defeating Brian Ortega on the last Noche UFC card and running back to octagon side at The Sphere to corner his teammate Alexa Grasso against Valentina Shevchenko. The other way around, cornering before his fight, was not allowed.
“The UFC didn’t let [Lopes be my corner],” Costa said. “We tried, but even though it was the third fight of the night, they said he couldn’t do it. But I’ll be in his corner.”
The Brazilian Warriors fighters won the same time they shared a card at Lux Fight League 7 back in 2019 in Monterrey, Mexico. Lopes tapped Marco Beltran to defend the 145-pound title, and Costa beat Diego Ortiz via decision.
Things did not go Costa’s way the second time at UFC 295, when he lost a decision to Steve Erceg immediately before Lopes’ win over Pat Sabatini — without Costa in his corner.
“It was an excellent camp together,” Costa said. “Diego, even though he’s coming off a loss to [Alexander] Volkanovski for the belt, he’s very motivated to be back. You can all expect a great fight from him, I’m sure he’ll come out with the win.”
“[Silva is] a tough fight, we know that, but I think Diego has way more experience than Jean,” he continued. “Jean hasn’t fought a top fighter like Diego. Of course, we’re not underestimating him, we know the fighter Jean is, but we also know who we are, who Diego is. Diego is very focused, and has a game plan different from past ones. Jean might complicate a bit, but we’re ready for any situation.”
Despite all the verbal attacks from Silva targeting Lopes ahead of their Brazil vs. Brazil main event in Texas, Costa said that his teammate’s mind is bulletproof.
“That’s part of his character,” Costa said of Silva. “Nothing he says affects us. We know how to deal with that type of character because it’s not the first time. Before the UFC, here in Mexico, several guys tried doing the same thing, so we’re used to this type of character. That’s Jean, right? He talks too much, talks crap, but that’s taken him to where he is today. We just laugh at all that. Nothing affects us.”
Costa hopes to get back in the win column to get his team off to a great start in San Antonio, and celebrates not fighting a Mexican flyweight on a card built around the Mexican Independence Day. Texas’ Coria stepped in as a replacement for Edgar Chairez.
“That was going to be a great fight,” Costa said of Chairez. “He’s popular here in the country. I was happy to be fighting a tough athlete off of good fights, but now I’m fighting Alden Coria. He’s from Houston, if I’m not mistaken, so he’s fighting at home. Even better that he’s a gringo, and that way I can still represent Mexico and Brazil.
“Alden is more of a striker, has good takedown defense and a ton of experience, but I see Edgar Chairez being a bit more dangerous than him. I’m not underestimating him, but I’m confident. Even though I’ve been out for almost two years, I’m feeling great both mentally and physically. It’s going to be my night.”
Costa has lived in Mexico for over a decade now, and hopes to get Mexican fans backing him in San Antonio — before hopefully facing Chairez down the line.
“Many people were commenting like, ‘Damn, two of our best fighters, I don’t know who I’m going to cheer for,’” Costa said. “That was a good fight though, and I think about fighting him in the future. My idea is to win this one fast and be back in November again. And if Edgar wants to fight in November, I’ll be ready for him.”