Surging UFC Star Gets UFC Fight Night Main Event Booking After Jaw-Dropping Knockout

A top-ranked featherweight contender is set to headline a UFC card for the first time after scoring one of the year’s best knockouts.

Following last weekend’s UFC 326 card that took place at T-Mobile Arena and saw Charles Oliveira dominate Max Holloway to claim the “BMF” title, the UFC is staying at home in Las Vegas this weekend for a UFC Fight Night card at the Meta APEX.

The promotion has several more events at the Meta APEX lined up for the first half of 2026, and Ag Fight reports that the UFC Fight Night card scheduled for May 16 will see Melquizal Costa step into the cage for the biggest fight of his career against fellow top-ranked featherweight Arnold Allen.

Melquizael Costa Gets UFC Main Event Slot After Incredible KO

Already a veteran of 24 professional MMA bouts by the time he joined the UFC in 2023, Costa was submitted in the second round when he debuted against his countryman Thiago Moisés at UFC 283.

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

The Brazilian earned his first UFC victory against Austin Lingo before closing out the year with a knockout-loss to Steve Garcia, but a 1-2 start to his UFC career preceeded off what has turned into an incredible win streak for Costa. “The Dalmation” submitted longtime UFC veteran Andre Fili in his only outing of 2024 before he won four fights in 2025, including a stunning first-round knockout of former Cage Warriors titleholder Morgan Charrière to close out the year.

Dan Ige (red gloves) fights Melquizael Costa (blue gloves) in a featherweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Toyota Center. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Costa’s win streak earned him a step up in competition at UFC Houston, where he secured a “Performance of the Night” bonus when he became the first fighter to knock out top-ranked featherweight contender Dan Ige.

Arnold Allen On A Tough Run After Undefeated Start To UFC Career

The stunning win over Ige vaulted Costa up to the #12 spot in the official UFC featherweight rankings, and now “The Dalmation” will get the chance to break into the division’s Top 10 when he meets Allen on May 16.

Max Holloway (red gloves) fights Arnold Allen (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at T-Mobile Center. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

After establishing himself as an elite featherweight with 10-straight wins to start his UFC career, Allen dropped a decision to divisional legend Max Holloway in a UFC Fight Night main event in 2023. That was followed by another loss to undefeated featherweight contender Movsar Evloev before Allen return to the win column against Giga Chikadze, but “Almighty” fell to 1-3 across his last four bouts when he came up short against Jean Silva in his most recent outing at UFC 324.

Arnold Allen (red gloves) reacts with Jean Silva (blue gloves) after their fight during UFC 324 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

With a high-profile main event between Allen and Costa now in place, fans will have to wait and see what else gets added to bolster a UFC Vegas 116 card that also features Ketlen Vieira taking on Jacqueline Cavalcanti in a pivotal women’s bantamweight bout.