The card has been steadily adding more fights<\/a> in recent weeks, and MMA Fighting<\/a> broke the news that Ige will attempt to defend his spot in the featherweight rankings when he and Costa square off on February 21. <\/p>\n Melquizael Costa Gets Ranked Fight After Stellar 2025<\/p>\n Already a veteran of 24 professional MMA fights by the time he joined the UFC, Costa made his Octagon debut on short notice and up a weight class when he took on Thiago Moises at UFC 283 and was submitted in the second round. <\/p>\n Andre Fili (red gloves) fights Melquizael Costa (blue gloves) in the featherweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Climate Pledge Arena. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images<\/p>\n A return to featherweight saw Costa take a unanimous decision over Austin Lingo before he was knocked out by Steve Garcia. Thatsetback preceded what was turned into an impressive five-fight run of victories that began with a third-round submission against Shayilan Nuerdanbieke in his final outing of 2024. <\/p>\n READ MORE: Hard-hitting KO artists to rematch at UFC 326 after ex-title challenger’s withdrawal<\/a><\/p>\n Modafak Rsrsr let\u2019s pic.twitter.com\/vQ7Mp98llD<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 \ud835\ude48\ud835\ude5a\ud835\ude61\ud835\ude60 \u201c\ud835\udc37\ud835\udc4e\ud835\udc59\ud835\udc5a\ud835\udc4e\ud835\udc61\ud835\udc56\ud835\udc4e\ud835\udc5b\u201d \ud835\ude3e\ud835\ude64\ud835\ude68\ud835\ude69\ud835\ude56 (@MelkCostaCauthy) January 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n After closing out 2024 on a high note, \u201cThe Dalmatian\u201d went 4-0 in 2025. Costa kicked off the year with a first-round submission against Andre Fili before taking unanimous decisions over Christian Rodriguez and Julian Erosa, and in December the Brazilian scored the most impressive highlight of his UFC career when he knocked out Morgan Charriere with a head kick just over a minute into their fight. <\/p>\n Can Dan Ige Stifle Another Rising Contender?<\/p>\n Costa will truly have to earn his spot in the featherweight Top 15 when he meets Ige in Houston, as the longtime UFC veteran has shared the Octagon with some of the featherweight division\u2019s biggest names since joining the promotion off of the inaugural season of Dana White\u2019s Contender Series. <\/p>\n READ MORE: UFC parts ways with 22-fight MMA veteran that debuted against Khamzat Chimaev<\/a><\/p>\n Currently ranked as the UFC\u2019s #14 featherweight contender, Ige opened 2025 with a third-round finish of the surging Sean Woodson but dropped a decision to former Bellator star Patricio Pitbull in his most recent outing at UFC 318. \u201c50K\u201d is 2-3 dating back to the beginning of 2024, with his other two losses coming at the hands of featherweight title challenger Diego Lopes <\/a>and undefeated contender Lerone Murphy.<\/p>\n Dan Ige (red gloves) reacts after defeating Sean Woodson (blue gloves) during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Costa vs. Ige is certainly a fan-friendly addition to UFC Houston after news of a fight between Yadier del Valle and Jordan Leavitt <\/a>also broke this week, and currently the February 21 card is shaping up like this. <\/p>\n UFC Houston Fight Card<\/p>\n \u2022\tMain Event: Sean Strickland vs. Anthony Hernandez<\/p>\n \u2022\tSerghei Spivac vs. Ante Delija<\/p>\n \u2022\tDan Ige vs. Melquizael Costa<\/p>\n \u2022\tOde Osbourne vs. Alibi Idiris<\/p>\n \u2022\tZach Reese vs. Michel Pereira<\/p>\n \u2022\tAlden Coria vs. Luis Gurule<\/p>\n \u2022\tJacobe Smith vs. Seok Hyeon Ko<\/p>\n \u2022\tAustin Vanderford vs. Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani<\/p>\n \u2022\tNora Cornolle vs. Joselyne Edwards<\/p>\n \u2022\tYadier del Valle vs. Jordan Leavitt<\/p>\n More MMA Knockout News<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0UFC knockout artist ready to face former champion in massive UFC 327 fight<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0UFC London gets first fight as surging contender looks to break into UFC rankings<\/a> <\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Devastating UFC knockout artists reportedly set to fight in Miami at UFC 327<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0MMA veteran that was never knocked out in the UFC suffers brutal KO loss<\/a><\/p>\n Stick with\u00a0MMAKnockout<\/a>\u00a0for more FREE coverage of the UFC and MMA.<\/p>\n Follow MMAKnockout on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Andre](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/01kecd0e19t3x5rbga1w.jpg\" "\\"Andre")
<\/p>\n![\"Dan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/01keccy2s6xycx78xkvb.jpg\" "\\"Dan")
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