This Saturday, Costa faces Andre Fili on the preliminary portion of UFC Seattle. He beat Shayilan Nuerdanbieke in his most up-to-date UFC look again in June 2024, tapping the Chinese language featherweight within the third spherical after a enjoyable back-and-fourth contest. That was the ultimate bout of Costa’s first four-fight take care of the promotion, and it took some time earlier than he was provided a brand new contract.
“I’m a really anxious individual, brother,” Costa instructed MMA Combating. “I even had nervousness disaster. There have been days I referred to as my grasp at 2:00 within the morning. I couldn’t sleep. I had 4 fights [in the UFC], received two and misplaced two, and thought they’d renew it, but it surely wasn’t coming. You solely actually consider it whenever you signal it.”
Costa misplaced a short-notice light-weight bout to Thiago Moises in his UFC debut after which returned to his authentic weight class to go 2-1, a stoppage loss to Steve Garcia sandwiched between wins over Austin Lingo and Nuerdanbieke.
“I comply with the MMA world and infrequently see somebody get launched, and once I verify their file they’re coming off a win,” Costa stated. “You coronary heart begins to race, you realize? I’m considering, ‘My God, am I going again to sq. one?’ I began to consider my daughter, so it actually was very distressing. And cash’s operating brief. I considered making use of to work for Uber, return to educating once more, in any other case I’d starve. Nearly a 12 months [living on] one purse.”
Costa stated he managed to settle down by November, believing that God would discover him a solution. He modified his food regimen to remain lighter and have the ability to take fights on shorter discover, and the brand new UFC contract—and bout settlement—finally got here.
“I used to be ready to combat since June and was like, ‘brother, the primary one I combat might be in bother’. and [Fili] is subsequent. Sorry, son, it’s ending badly for you,” Costa stated. “That is going to be the most important title I’ll beat thus far as a result of I misplaced to Thiago Moises [laughs]. I’m all the time mapping out fighters I might combat someday, and Fili was one of many names. He already fought ‘Tubarao’ [Joanderson Brito] and I studied him lots on the time once I was serving to Tubarao in sparring. I’m excited to combat title, to combat somebody that likes to punch and get punched. It’s going to be superior. But when he needs to go to the bottom, we’re prepared [laughs].”
Costa stated Fili has modified his combating fashion since getting knocked out by Brito in simply 31 seconds again in April 2022 and in a means that stunned him.
“He used to retreat extra again within the day, and now he’s strolling ahead,” Costa stated. “It’s sort of bizarre as a result of individuals normally decelerate after they get hit and their chin isn’t the identical anymore. He’s not a brawler, not the kind of fighter to get hit within the head, and it seems that his chin isn’t the identical anymore. However he has good hanging. I wish to suppose extra of what he likes to do finest as a substitute of his weaknesses.”
“I feel I’ll end him,” he continued. “I’m working actually onerous, and I need to commerce fingers with him. But when he tries to take me down, or if we find yourself on the bottom, I’ve extra playing cards up my sleeve. I’m so anxious for this combat.”
