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Alden Coria Ready To Seize Dream Opportunity
Flyweight Prospect Originally Set To Compete On Dana White's Contender Series Makes UFC Debut Against Alessandro Costa At Noche UFC This Saturday
Alden Coria was sleeping in his truck outside the 4oz Fight Club gym when he got a life-changing call.
Before we continue, no, this isn’t a rags to riches story of Coria being homeless then getting that call. The Texan was just catching a nap before training when the phone rang and he was asked about taking a short notice fight. In the UFC. Against Alessandro Costa. On Noche UFC night in San Antonio.
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“I was half asleep when my manager told me that I got the call-up,” said Coria. “I couldn't even believe it. I was kind of shaking when he told me.”
If you know the kind of fighters produced by the 4oz Fight Club – Daniel Pineda, Joshua Van, Michael Aswell – you know Coria said yes, and then cut his nap short to get to work. Friday, Coria hit his mark on the scales at 126 pounds, and now all that’s left is the fight for the 27-year-old, who was preparing for a bout on Dana White’s Contender Series when told that he was moving on up.
“I had the Contender Series scheduled, and I was already starting camp maybe like three weeks prior,” he said. “So I was already getting prepared and then that came up. And there was no hesitation. I wanted it. Someone sent me the screenshot of (Edgar) Chairez falling out and we sent that over to him (manager Jason House) and he was like, ‘Let me see what I can do.’ And then he called me and told me that I was in and I couldn't even believe it.”
It’s real, and so is the reality that everyone in his inner circle will be making the three-hour drive from Houston to San Antonio to watch Coria attempt to pick up his first UFC win. It’s a whirlwind for sure, but Coria sounds calm, cool and collected in the midst of it.
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“My friends and family are all going to make it up there, I got the home crowd, and it's exciting,” he said. “It definitely added a fire under my ass and I've been working my ass off these past few weeks.”
When we spoke, Coria was just finishing up a boxing workout with his main training partner, number one flyweight contender Van, and if the adage that steel sharpens steel is true, fans at Frost Bank Center will be in for a treat this weekend, and it’s also justification for Coria sticking to his guns and staying in the game after a rough stretch from 2022 to 2024 that turned a 5-0 start to 7-3.
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“It was really my coach,” said Coria of Artenas Young. “He was pushing me to believe more in myself. I obviously believed in myself, but once I lost those few, I just wasn't sure if this was for me anymore. And when I (subsequently) went on that winning streak, it was kind of the same thing. I saw people passing me up and I was like, what's going on? Why am I not getting this call? And I just had to keep my head down and keep working and keep grinding. And it was really just my coach, Artenas Young, keeping me in the gym and pushing me.”
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The hard work paid off. Alden Coria is a UFC fighter about to make his UFC debut, repping himself, his family, his state, and the 4oz Fight Club.
“The 4oz. thing is that we're all dogs and we're there to fight.”
Noche UFC: Lopes vs Silva took place live Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas on September 13,2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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