Moises vs Costa

Who won Moises vs Costa?

Thiago Moises beat Melquizael Costa by submission in the 2nd round during the prelims of UFC 283, on Saturday 21st January 2023 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Lightweight division, which meant the weight limit was 155 pounds (11.1 stone or 70.3 KG).

Moises vs Costa stats

Thiago Moises stepped into the octagon with a record of 16 wins, 6 losses and 0 draws, 3 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 7 by submission.

Melquizael Costa made his way to the cage with a record of 19 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 7 of those wins coming by knock out and 6 by submission.

This was Thiago Moises' 15th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2018. Melquizael Costa marked his 7th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2023.

Thiago Moises' UFC record stood at 8-7-0, while Melquizael Costa's came in at 5-2-0.

The stats suggested Costa had an advantage in power over Moises, with a 37% knock out percentage over Moises' 19%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Moises had an advantage over Costa, with a 44% submission rate over Costa's 32%.

Thiago Moises was the older man by 2 years, at 30 years old.

Costa had a height advantage of 1 inch over Moises.

Moises was arguably the more experienced fighter, having had 2 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2012, 1 year and 9 months earlier than Costa, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He had fought 4 more professional rounds, 73 to Costa's 69.

Moises vs Costa form

Thiago Moises had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Joel Alvarez at UFC Vegas 42 on 13th November 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Islam Makhachev at UFC Vegas 31 on 17th July 2021 by submission in the 4th round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had won against Bobby Green at UFC Vegas 12 on 31st October 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had beaten Michael Johnson at UFC Fight Night Jacksonville on 13th May 2020 by submission in the 2nd round at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville.

He had been defeated by Beneil Dariush at UFC Fight Night 139 on 10th November 2018 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Pepsi Center, Denver.

Activity check

Moises' last 5 fights had come over a period of 6 years, 6 months and 12 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 3 months and 22 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Moises vs Costa?

Thiago Moises was a 23/100 (-430) favourite going into the contest, while Melquizael Costa made his way into the ring at 13/4 (+330) with oddsmakers.