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Rising UFC star gets ranked opponent at UFC Houston after going 4-0 in 2025

Can "The Dalmation" extend his current five-fight win streak?
Drew Beaupre|
(Zuffa LLC)

Melquizael Costa will get a well-deserved crack at the featherweight rankings when he takes on Dan Ige at UFC Houston.

Scheduled as the middle offering of three-straight UFC Fight Night events in February, the UFC’s return to Houston is headlined by a massive middleweight contest between the division’s former titleholder Sean Strickland and top contender Anthony Hernandez.

The card has been steadily adding more fights in recent weeks, and MMA Fighting broke the news that Ige will attempt to defend his spot in the featherweight rankings when he and Costa square off on February 21.

Melquizael Costa Gets Ranked Fight After Stellar 2025

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.

Andre Fili (red gloves) fights Melquizael Costa (blue gloves) in the featherweight bout during UFC Fight Night.
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

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.

READ MORE: Hard-hitting KO artists to rematch at UFC 326 after ex-title challenger's withdrawal

After closing out 2024 on a high note, “The Dalmatian” 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.

Can Dan Ige Stifle Another Rising Contender?

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’s biggest names since joining the promotion off of the inaugural season of Dana White’s Contender Series.

READ MORE: UFC parts ways with 22-fight MMA veteran that debuted against Khamzat Chimaev

Currently ranked as the UFC’s #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. “50K” 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 and undefeated contender Lerone Murphy.

Dan Ige (red gloves) reacts after defeating Sean Woodson (blue gloves) during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center.
Dan Ige (red gloves) reacts after defeating Sean Woodson (blue gloves) during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Costa vs. Ige is certainly a fan-friendly addition to UFC Houston after news of a fight between Yadier del Valle and Jordan Leavitt also broke this week, and currently the February 21 card is shaping up like this.

UFC Houston Fight Card

• Main Event: Sean Strickland vs. Anthony Hernandez

• Serghei Spivac vs. Ante Delija

• Dan Ige vs. Melquizael Costa

• Ode Osbourne vs. Alibi Idiris

• Zach Reese vs. Michel Pereira

• Alden Coria vs. Luis Gurule

• Jacobe Smith vs. Seok Hyeon Ko

• Austin Vanderford vs. Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani

• Nora Cornolle vs. Joselyne Edwards

• Yadier del Valle vs. Jordan Leavitt

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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