Riding high and confident, Melk Costa has a golden opportunity to break into the top 5 of the featherweight division at UFC Vegas 117.

Melk celebrates victory in the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

If there is one category in which Brazil has been excelling, it is the featherweight division (up to 65,8 kg) and, this Saturday (16), another representative of the country could join the elite group. In the main fight of ufc vegas 117, Melquizael Costa will try his luck against the experienced arnold allenAnd, being at the peak of his confidence, the Paraense fighter has no shortage of enthusiasm to compete in the most important fight of his career and move to the next level.

Stake Brasil, official sponsor of the UFC.

A Stake is the official sponsor of the UFC in Brazil, in addition to names such as Alex Poatán, Alexandre pantoja e Israel adesanyaThe betting platform is fully licensed in Brazil and offers complete security for you to place your bets. Click here To complete your registration.

See too

Exposed! Businessman reveals that Strickland asked for free tickets to watch the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano fight after blasting stars.

Is a fight coming? Francis Ngannou is excited about Jon Jones' presence at a Netflix MMA event.

Angry! Nate Diaz lashes out and promises to slap the 'arrogant' Ilia Topuria: 'He's trash'

Currently, Melk, with six consecutive wins and ranked 12th, is proving unstoppable in the octagon and hungry for victory. Since Allen is number seven in the rankings, the Brazilian, in case of another win, will move closer to the top 5. Therefore, seeing that... Diego lopes He fought for the featherweight title twice and that Jean Silva He is in the running to challenge the champion. Alexander VolkanovskyThe athlete doesn't want to fall behind his compatriots, but rather join them.

But for Melk to leave behind his status as a promising fighter and truly become a threat to the top names in the featherweight division, he needs to get past the Englishman, who usually makes defeats costly. Allen, in fact, is a long-time member of the division's top 10 and was close to a title shot. In the UFC since 2015, the 32-year-old has only lost three times, all to important names such as... Max Holloway, Movsar Evloev and finally Jean Silva.

Allen celebrates his UFC victory. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

In turn, the Brazilian is completely at home in the organization and impressed by knocking out the tough guys. Dan Ige and Morgan Charrière in the first round. Precisely because of his excellent recent record, Melk believes he has a good chance of doing the same against the Englishman, who has never lost by submission or knockout. Being a well-rounded fighter, dangerous both striking and on the ground, the 'Dalmatian', with his aggressive and exciting style, aims to test the veteran.

Because he's on a roll, the moment is completely in the Brazilian's favor. However, Melk needs to be focused and careful, because Allen, despite his loss to 'Lord', didn't perform badly or appear weakened. It's worth noting that the Englishman likes to strike, has knockout power, and defends well. Since the fight is very important, the athletes are likely to deliver high-level entertainment that will put the winner in the spotlight.

UFC Vegas 117 technical details

Date: May 16, 2026

Time: From 18pm (Brasília time)

Location: Meta Apex, Nevada, United States

How to watch: SUPER FIGHTS LIVE in real time, Paramount+ (entire card) on TV and internet.

MAIN CARD (21pm Brasília time)

Featherweight (up to 65,8 kg): arnold allen x Melquizael Costa

Featherweight (up to 65,8 kg): Dooho Choi x Daniel Willycat

Bantam weight (up to 61,2 kg): Malcolm Wellmaker Juan Diaz

Married weight (up to 97,5 kg): Modest Bukauskas x Christian Edwards

Bantam weight (up to 61,2 kg): Timothy Cuamba x Bernardo Sopaj

Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Nikolay Veretennikov x Khaos Williams

PRELIMINARY CARD (18pm Brasília time)

Light heavyweight (up to 93 kg): Tuco Tokkos x Ivan Erslan

Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg): Thomas Gantt x Artur Minev

Bantam weight (up to 61,2 kg): Ketlen Scallop x Jacqueline Cavalcanti

Average weight (up to 83,9 kg): Cody Brundage x Andre Petroski

Straw weight (up to 52,2 kg): Alice Ardelean x Polyana viana

Flyweight (up to 57 kg): Daniel Barez x Luis Gurule

Straw weight (up to 52,2 kg): Shauna Bannon x Nicole Caliari