Alessandro Costa and Diego Lopes are set to once again share a card in the UFC, but that comes with a price.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201c[That has] has pros and cons,\u201d Costa told MMA Fighting. \u201cIt seems that I\u2019ll be the third fight of the card so that\u2019s good because I\u2019ll be in Diego\u2019s corner. And the con is that Diego won\u2019t be able to be in my corner.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe UFC didn\u2019t let [Lopes be my corner],\u201d Costa said. \u201cWe tried, but even though it was the third fight of the night, they said he couldn\u2019t do it. But I\u2019ll be in his corner.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Things did not go Costa\u2019s way the second time at UFC 295, when he lost a decision to Steve Erceg immediately before Lopes\u2019 win over Pat Sabatini \u2014 without Costa in his corner.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an excellent camp together,\u201d Costa said. \u201cDiego, even though he\u2019s coming off a loss to [Alexander] Volkanovski for the belt, he\u2019s very motivated to be back. You can all expect a great fight from him, I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll come out with the win.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c[Silva is] a tough fight, we know that, but I think Diego has way more experience than Jean,\u201d he continued. \u201cJean hasn\u2019t fought a top fighter like Diego. Of course, we\u2019re 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\u2019re ready for any situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite all the verbal attacks from Silva targeting Lopes ahead of their Brazil vs. Brazil main event in Texas, Costa said that his teammate\u2019s mind is bulletproof.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s part of his character,\u201d Costa said of Silva. \u201cNothing he says affects us. We know how to deal with that type of character because it\u2019s not the first time. Before the UFC, here in Mexico, several guys tried doing the same thing, so we\u2019re used to this type of character. That\u2019s Jean, right? He talks too much, talks crap, but that\u2019s taken him to where he is today. We just laugh at all that. Nothing affects us.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019 Coria stepped in as a replacement for Edgar Chairez.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was going to be a great fight,\u201d Costa said of Chairez. \u201cHe\u2019s popular here in the country. I was happy to be fighting a tough athlete off of good fights, but now I\u2019m fighting Alden Coria. He\u2019s from Houston, if I\u2019m not mistaken, so he\u2019s fighting at home. Even better that he\u2019s a gringo, and that way I can still represent Mexico and Brazil.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlden 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\u2019m not underestimating him, but I\u2019m confident. Even though I\u2019ve been out for almost two years, I\u2019m feeling great both mentally and physically. It\u2019s going to be my night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Costa has lived in Mexico for over a decade now, and hopes to get Mexican fans backing him in San Antonio \u2014 before hopefully facing Chairez down the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany people were commenting like, \u2018Damn, two of our best fighters, I don\u2019t know who I\u2019m going to cheer for,\u2019\u201d Costa said. \u201cThat 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\u2019ll be ready for him.\u201d<\/p>\n