New Yorker Jared Gordon returns on November 14 at UFC 334 in New York. The lightweight fighter makes his second appearance this year, taking on Melquizael Costa in the lightweight division at Madison Square Garden. Costa, who fought at featherweight, will continue his career at lightweight.
Multiple sources have confirmed the booking to Heavy.com after an initial report from AG Fight. Neither Gordon nor Costa is ranked in the lightweight division, but Costa retains the number 12 spot in both the UFC Media and UFC Meta featherweight rankings.
Main Stay At Lightweight
Jared Gordon earned his contract with the UFC in 2017. While fighting for CFFC, UFC President Dana White was scouting the best prospects on the card that night for the series “Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight”. Gordon impressed White and was signed to the UFC as the CFFC champion with a 12-1 record. Gordon started with two wins in his debut year in the UFC but dropped his next two fights, being finished on both occasions. After beating Dan Moret in 2019, Gordon got a big step up in competition and took on later-champion Charles Oliveira. Gordon lost in the first round but went on a three-fight winning streak, beating Chris Fishgold, Danny Chavez, and Joe Solecki, staying undefeated in 2021 and 2022.
Unfortunately for Gordon, he struggled to build up momentum in the division. A very controversial loss to Paddy Pimblett and a no contest to King Green also didn’t help that case. Last year, Gordon seemed to be back on track with a knockout win over Thiago Moisés but got finished in the third round by Rafa Garcia. Later, Gordon mentioned that he was hit by a car while walking the streets two days before the fight. Gordon’s most recent fight was earlier this year. He lost in the first round by guillotine choke against veteran Jim Miller. He now looks to break his two-fight losing streak when he welcomes Melquizael Costa in the lightweight division.
New Weight Class, New Chances
Melquizael Costa signed on short notice with the UFC in 2023. The Brazilian fighter already had lots of experience with over twenty professional fights. In his debut, he fell short to countryman Thiago Moisés. That fight was because of the preparation time at lightweight. For his sophomore fight, he returned half a year later at featherweight against Austin Lingo. Costa took his first win in the UFC by unanimous decision. The Brazilian fighter then lost by knockout against Steve Garcia and knew he had to win his fourth fight on his contract against Shayilan Nuerdanbieke to remain in the UFC. A face crank submission in the third round brought Costa his necessary win. From that moment, Costa went on an absolute tear in the division.
Last year, the Brazilian athlete fought four times in the UFC. He won all four fights, beating opponents like Christian Rodriguez and Julian Erosa and finishing Andre Fili and Morgan Charrière. With five wins in a row, Costa got a shot at a ranked opponent earlier this year against Dan Ige. Costa became the first man to finish Ige in an MMA fight via TKO in the first round. A massive feather in the cap for the Brazilian fighter, who was awarded his first main event fight in the UFC against Arnold Allen. Allen dominated the fight and cracked Costa’s six-fight winning streak. Costa has decided to continue his career at lightweight and takes on Jared Gordon in New York.
UFC 334 – New York
- Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit
- Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes
- Caio Borralho vs. Yousri Belgaroui
- Uroš Medić vs. Kevin Holland
- Bilal Hasan vs. Luis Gurule
- Stephen Thompson vs. Charles Radtke
- Drew Dober vs. Chris Duncan
- Jim Miller vs. Terrance McKinney
- Donte Johnson vs. Baisangur Susurkaev
- Macy Chiasson vs. Bia Mesquita
- Adrian Yañez vs. Juan Diaz
- Jared Gordon vs. Melquizael Costa
UFC Adds Lightweight Scrap for UFC 334 in New York