Arnold Allen defeated Melquizael Costa by unanimous decision on May 16 at UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Costa, held at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. The judges scored the bout 50-45, 50-45, and 49-46, all in favor of Allen [1].
Allen dominated the fight using a combination of striking and wrestling, going 7-for-7 on takedown attempts. His grappling control helped him maintain the upper hand throughout the five-round main event [1].
Melquizael Costa entered the fight ranked 12th in the featherweight division and on a six-fight winning streak with four finishes, including a knockout over Dan Ige in February 2026 at UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Hernandez [2, 3, 1]. Allen, ranked seventh, came in with a UFC record of 20-4 but had lost to Jean Silva in January 2026 by unanimous decision [2, 3, 4, 5].
At the weigh-ins, both fighters seemed focused on their respective game plans. Allen said, "I'm pissed off. I need to get things right. The decisions are out of my control. I feel like I'm better. I had some ring rust, a lay off and was coming off an injury. I don't really think about it because I beat Movsar. The Jean Silva fight, I feel like I won. I'm 1-3, but I feel like it's 3-1. The only one where I feel like I really lost was to Max Holloway" [3]. Costa responded, "I said all along that I'd knock Dan Ige out. I didn't mean any disrespect. I knew that our styles matched. I'm saying the same thing about Arnold Allen. People think that I talk too much, but really" [3].
The event was broadcast exclusively on Paramount+, which streams all UFC Fight Night and numbered events for a subscription starting at $8.99 per month [2, 3, 4, 6, 5]. The main card began at approximately 8 p.m. ET.
In the co-main event, Choi Doo-ho defeated Daniel Santos by second-round TKO, with six fighters earning $100,000 bonuses for Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night awards at UFC Vegas 117, including Choi and Santos [1].
The UFC featherweight division will now turn attention to Allen's next scheduled fight, as he looks to improve his record after this decisive win over a top contender.
