Melquizael Costa has made it clear he is not heading into Saturday in New York to feel his way through a cautious fight with Jared Gordon. The 30-year-old says he expects a finish, believes the matchup will be a serious test, and is already looking beyond UFC 334 toward a possible December return at UFC 335.
Costa is coming into this bout after losing a decision to Arnold Allen in May, which ended a six-fight winning run at featherweight. That setback has not changed his tone. Instead, he has doubled down on the idea that this move back to lightweight will bring out the best version of him.
Costa: This will not go the distance
Speaking ahead of the fight, Costa was direct about how he sees the contest playing out. “I’m either going to knock him out or submit him, man,” he said. “I don’t see this fight going to the scorecards.”
He also said, “Somebody’s going to pay for this, brother. Not somebody, Gordon. He’s screwed, brother. Sorry, Gordon, but you’re going to get beat up bad.” Even with that confidence, Costa stopped short of dismissing Gordon as an easy assignment. “He’s a very dangerous guy,” he said. “I see a lot of people saying the UFC gave me a gift, but I think the UFC gave me a high-level fight.”
That matters because Gordon is not coming in as a name pushed forward lightly. He has been in the UFC for nearly a decade, has won nine of his 18 octagon appearances, and arrives on a two-fight skid after losses to Rafa Garcia and Jim Miller.
Why the move back to lightweight matters
Costa said the shift is about more than just changing weight classes. “I built my career at lightweight,” he said. “I was a lightweight fighting at featherweight. That’s the truth. I was suffering way too much.”
That gives the fight a different feel for him. He believes the lighter cut will leave him fresher, healthier and better prepared to solve problems in the cage. “Now I’m going to show up in great shape, and my weight cut will be much more manageable,” he said. “It was something that really held me back in fights.”
He also pointed to the demands of recent short-notice bookings. “The UFC has been booking fights on short notice lately, and in many of them I didn’t even have much of a game plan,” Costa said. “It was just about cutting weight, and then we’d see what happened in the fight.”
Now, he says, the picture is clearer. “Now I’m able to think things through better, work more on the technical side, get more repetitions in, and that’s allowing me to really enjoy even my sparring sessions.”
Already planning for December
Costa is not just focused on Jared Gordon. He has already mapped out what comes next if the fight ends quickly. “I’m already thinking big,” he said. “I’m going for a war, but if the fight ends quickly, I’m already ready for December, to close out the year at T-Mobile at UFC 335.”
That is a strong sign of his mindset entering UFC 334. He wants action, he wants momentum, and he wants to work. “I want to work, brother,” he said. “Nothing that’s going to happen will surprise me.”
For now, though, everything starts with Gordon. Costa says he is feeling the benefits of the move, believes he has the tools to make a statement, and expects Saturday in New York to be a violent, decisive night rather than a long tactical battle. If he gets his wish, the next conversation may already be about December.
