Arnold Allen vs. Melquizael Costa Heads UFC Vegas 117
arnold allen gets the UFC Vegas 117 main event against Melquizael Costa on Saturday, May 16, 2026, inside the META APEX. The featherweight matchup sits atop a card streaming on Paramount+, with Allen trying to steady his place in the division while Costa arrives riding six straight wins.
META APEX Main Event
The booking gives Allen a direct chance to respond after losses to Jean Silva, Movsar Evloev and Max Holloway. His most recent wins came against Giga Chikadze and Calvin Kattar, but the wider form line is the pressure point here because the main event is the clearest statement fight on the card.
Costa has built a run that changed his standing at 145 pounds. He finished Dan Ige in his last fight, has won six in a row, and has not lost since 2023, when Steve Garcia beat him. That sequence makes him the opposite kind of headliner: a fighter arriving with momentum instead of needing to stop a slide.
Allen and Costa Numbers
The striking stats point to a narrow edge for Costa. He lands 4.38 significant strikes a minute and absorbs 2.97, while Allen lands 3.47 and absorbs 3.04. On paper, that puts Costa slightly ahead in output and defense, even before the fight hits the mat.
The wrestling numbers tilt a different way. Costa averages two takedowns every fifteen minutes with a 40 percent takedown accuracy rate, while Allen owns a 71 percent takedown rate. That split gives the main event two workable paths: Costa can try to keep the exchanges moving, or Allen can lean on his takedown success to change the rhythm.
Doo Ho Choi and Daniel Santos
The co-main event adds another featherweight-centered layer with Doo Ho Choi against Daniel Santos. It does not change the top-line stakes for Allen or Costa, but it gives the card another fight with division relevance underneath the headliner.
For Allen, the assignment is straightforward: beat a fighter on a six-fight streak and keep himself from drifting further from the top of the featherweight picture. Costa gets the cleaner runway, with a recent finish, stronger current form, and the numbers to justify his place in the main event.
