Fight Preview
Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Allen vs Costa
Setting The Table For This Weekend’s Buffet Of Action At Meta APEX
Following an eventful night in Newark, New Jersey, where UFC 328 saw a familiar name return to the top of the middleweight division, and Joshua Van solidify his standing atop the flyweight ranks, the action shifts back to the Meta APEX this weekend for a Fight Night card headlined by a crucial matchup in the featherweight division.
Here’s a detailed look at what’s on tap Saturday at UFC Fight Night: Allen vs Costa.
Main Event: Arnold Allen vs Melquizael Costa
Location: Meta APEX — Las Vegas, NV
Where to Watch: Paramount+
Other Main Card Matches:
- DooHo Choi vs Daniel Santos
- Malcolm Wellmaker vs Juan Diaz
- Modestas Bukauskas vs Christian Edwards
- Timmy Cuamba vs Benardo Sopaj
- Nikolay Veretennikov vs Khaos Williams
Prelim Matches:
- Tuco Tokkos vs Ivan Erslan
- Thomas Gantt vs Artur Minev
- Ketlen Vieira vs Jacqueline Cavalcanti
- Cody Brundage vs Andre Petroski
- Alice Ardelean vs Polyana Viana
- Daniel Barez vs Luis Gurule
- Shauna Bannon vs Nicolle Caliari
Main Event: Arnold Allen vs Melquizael Costa
As the pecking order in the featherweight division continues to get sorted out heading towards the second half of the year, Arnold Allen and Melquizael Costa cross paths in Las Vegas to see who will hit the summer stationed inside the Top 10.
Allen makes his second start of the year after landing on the wrong side of the scorecards in a competitive bout with Jean Silva at UFC 324 to kick off the year. The British staple returns to Las Vegas in a strange place, having dropped three of four after winning 10 straight to begin his UFC tenure, eager to prove that he’s still very much an elite talent in the continually deepening weight class.
Arnold Allen | Greatest Hits
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Arnold Allen | Greatest Hits
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There are few fighters on the roster hotter than Costa, who rolls into his first main event assignment on a six-fight winning streak, having posted consecutive first-round stoppage wins to catapult himself into the Top 15. After closing out last year with a devastating head kick finish of Morgan Charriere, the surging Brazilian stopped Dan Ige in February, moving his record to 7-1 in the division.
MORE: Allen Wants To Excite | Costa Maximizing Opportunities | Five Things To Know About Costa
The ranked athletes in the featherweight division have been exceptionally active so far this year, and this pairing continues that trend. It will be curious to see how Allen does fighting backwards in the rankings, while Costa lands in the main event spotlight for the first time. This is a critical opportunity for both men, so expect sharp efforts on both sides from the outset.
Additional Main Card Matchups
Co-Main Event: Dooho Choi vs Daniel Santos
All-action featherweights occupy the co-main event slot on Saturday as DooHo Choi faces off with streaking Brazilian Daniel Santos.
Now 35 years old, Choi returns to action for the first time since the end of 2024 after a knee injury washed out his 2025 campaign. The fan favorite enters on a three-fight unbeaten streak, having posted back-to-back stoppage wins over Nate Landwehr and Bill Algeo on top of his majority draw with Kyle Nelson back in the early part of 2023 when he made his long-awaited return following a three-year layoff.
Santos dropped his promotional debut in a bout where his opponent failed to make weight, but has been flawless since, posting four straight wins heading into this weekend’s penultimate pairing. “Willycat” officially touched down in the 145-pound weight class last year with a unanimous decision win over JeongYeong Lee at UFC 315 and then followed it up with a second-round stoppage finish of JooSang Yoo at UFC 320 in October.
RELATED: Daniel Santos Ready For War
This one has Fight of the Night written all over it, though it’s equally capable of ending in 20 seconds. Sparks will fly, so be sure to be locked in for this one once the Octagon door locks behind them.
Malcolm Wellmaker vs Juan Diaz
Malcolm Wellmaker makes his first start of 2026 on Saturday, sharing the Octagon with promising promotional newcomer Juan Diaz.
The 31-year-old Wellmaker had an outstanding start to his rookie year last year, following up his first-round knockout win over Cameron Saaiman in his debut with a similar effort against Kris Moutinho at home in Atlanta just a few weeks later. But he landed on the wrong side of the results in a competitive pairing with short-notice replacement Ethyn Ewing in November and looks to right the ship here.
Malcolm Wellmaker Earns First-Round KO In His Debut | UFC Kansas City
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Malcolm Wellmaker Earns First-Round KO In His Debut | UFC Kansas City
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A once-beaten 27-year-old fighting out of the UFC Performance Institute in Mexico City, Diaz punched his ticket to the roster with a second-round spinning back elbow knockout of Won Il Kwon last season on Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS). He’s won eight straight overall and 15 of 17 as a professional and now gets the chance to make an instant impression in his first foray into the UFC cage.
READ: Malcolm Wellmaker The Future Is Still Bright | Juan Diaz Ready to Make a Statement
Will Wellmaker rebound with another impressive showing, or can Diaz register a statement win in his initial UFC start?
Modestas Bukauskas vs Christian Edwards
Modestas Bukauskas will continue his push toward the light heavyweight Top 15 when he faces short-notice UFC newcomer Christian Edwards.
Bukauskas entered 2026 on a quality run since returning to the UFC fold in 2023, having posted four straight wins and a 6-1 mark overall before running into Nikita Krylov at UFC 324. While “The Baltic Gladiator” had positive moments, he was too frequently on the wrong end of the exchanges and was ultimately felled by the veteran in the waning moments of the fight.
Edwards steps up on five days’ notice, filling in for Rodolfo Bellato, who was removed from the bout on Tuesday. The 27-year-old Oklahoma native enters his UFC debut having won three of his last four fights. Edwards has finished six of his eight wins, four by knockout and two by submission. He’ll pose a dangerous threat early, having finished four fights in the first round, including two in under one minute.
READ: Modestas Bukauskas | Embrace The Chaos
For Bukauskas, a dominant outing on Saturday could further prove he’s ready to test himself against more Top 15 opponents. For Edwards, a win over a proven veteran would be a massive statement and could fast-track him toward the rankings.
Timmy Cuamba vs Bernardo Sopaj
Promising young bantamweights sidle up next to one another here as Las Vegas local Timmy Cuamba welcomes Benardo Sopaj to his hometown.
Cuamba showed his true promise in 2025, settling into life in the UFC and posting a pair of quality victories. After stopping Roberto Romero in April, the 27-year-old shifted down to bantamweight, earning a unanimous decision win over Road to UFC tournament winner ChangHo Lee, handing him just the second loss of his career.
Sopaj landed on the wrong end of a Vinicius Oliveira highlight finish in his short-notice debut in March 2024, but showed in his return to action last January against Ricky Turcios that he belongs at this level. Now the Allstars Training Center representative returns to Las Vegas looking to exorcise the demons of his debut and halt Cuamba’s modest two-fight winning streak.
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This profiles as a quick and technical matchup between a pair of sharp strikers looking to make some real headway in the loaded bantamweight division this year. Expect a fast pace and plenty of action once this one gets underway.
Nikolay Veretennikov vs Khaos Williams
Nikolay Veretennikov and Khaos Williams open the main card on Saturday in what should be a combustible encounter in the welterweight division.
A game of musical chairs landed Veretennikov opposite Niko Prive in early February, and the 36-year-old former DWCS contestant shone, registering a standing knockout win over the veteran. He’s won two of his last three and showed a different kind of urgency in his most recent outing, so it will be curious to see how Veretennikov follows up that performance here.
A proven power hitter with two four first-round stoppage wins in 90 seconds or less in the UFC, Williams makes his first appearance of 2026 looking to halt a two-fight skid. When he’s in space and triggering strikes, the 32-year-old is electric, but he’s been hesitant to throw and often stuck in clinch situations of late, which is something Williams will need to avoid if he wants to beat Veretennikov this weekend.
This is one of those matchups that could honestly end in jaw-dropping fashion seconds after it begins or play out as a 15-minute battle of attrition, and it all comes down to who is able to dictate the terms of engagement in trust in their skills the most.
Preliminary Card Pairings
Tuco Tokkos vs Ivan Erslan
Light heavyweights currently moving in opposite directions meet this weekend as Tuco Tokkos faces off with Ivan Erslan.
Tokkos touches down in Las Vegas looking to build off his first UFC win, having submitted Junior Tafa last July in Nashville. Erslan had competitive battles with Ion Cutelaba and Navajo Stirling in his first two UFC starts, and hopes to do the same as Tokkos did last time and register his first UFC win here.
Tommy Gantt vs Artur Minev
It's a battle of lightweight newcomers as Dana White's Contender Series standout Thomas Gantt meets undefeated prospect Artur Minev.
DWCS Full Fight | Tommy Gantt vs Adam Livingston
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DWCS Full Fight | Tommy Gantt vs Adam Livingston
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A DWCS Class of ’25 alum, Gantt has been perfect through his first 11 starts, with 10 finishes, and is the latest hopeful that has trained with former two-division champ Daniel Cormier to make his way into the Octagon.
Standing across from him will be Ukrainian standout Artur Minev, who has finished all but one of his seven wins. Minev enters the bout fresh off a first-round stoppage victory in January. With the UFC lightweight division as deep and talent-rich as ever, both fighters will be looking to take a key step forward in the division’s crowded contender landscape.
Ketlen Vieira vs Jacqueline Cavalcanti
Ranked bantamweights collide on the prelims as Ketlen Vieira steps in with the streaking Jacqueline Cavalcanti.
A mainstay in the title conversation for the last several years, Vieira returns after landing on the wrong side of a debated split decision loss to Norma Dumont last November. Cavalcanit has gone 5-0 since arriving in the UFC and won eight straight overall, climbing to No. 11 in the rankings and eyeing a place in the Top 5 with a win over Vieira on Saturday.
Cody Brundage vs Andre Petroski
Middleweight staples Cody Brundage and Andre Petroski lock horns this weekend in what should be an explosive contest for as long as it lasts.
This will already be Brundage’s third start of 2026, following bouts against Cam Rowston and Donte Johnson, and his sixth appearance in the last 15 months, with the Factory X man looking to pick up his sixth UFC win. Petroski ran afoul of Rowston last September in Perth, but heads to Las Vegas bolstered by the success his teammates Sean Brady and Pat Sabatini had last weekend in New Jersey.
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Alice Ardelean vs Polyana Viana
One of two strawweight bouts on the card this weekend, Alice Ardelean aims to extend her winning streak as she takes on Polyana Viana.
After landing on the wrong side of the results in her first two appearances, Ardelean heads into his first start of 2026 on a two-fight winning streak, having earned decision wins over Rayanne Dos Santos and Montserrat Ruiz last year. Viana has made one appearance in each of the last three years and looks to return to the form that produced three stoppage wins in four fights earlier in her UFC tenure.
Daniel Barez vs Luis Gurule
Flyweights that have thus far struggled to find their footing in the UFC share the Octagon here as Daniel Barez faces Luis Gurule.
Barez, who lost a split decision on Season 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series, has gone 1-2 in three UFC starts, sandwiching a decision win over Victor Altamirano between a submission loss to Jafel Filho and Andre Lima. Gurule earned his place on the roster with a hard-fought, short-notice win on Season 8 of the annual talent series show, but heads into the weekend still searching for his first UFC win.
Shauna Bannon vs Nicolle Caliari
Strawweights open Saturday’s show as Ireland’s Shauna Bannon takes on Brazil’s Nicolle Caliari.
The 32-year-old Bannon begins her fourth year on the roster level at 2-2 in the UFC, having earned her first finish inside the Octagon, but also been stopped for the first time in her career last year. Following an impressive performance on Season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series, Caliari faltered in her rookie year on the roster, dropping a split decision in her debut before being outworked and stopped by Carli Judice in July at UFC 318.
UFC Fight Night: Allen vs Costa took place live from Meta APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 16, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!