We’re six fights into UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs Song in Seattle – with all six of the preliminary card bouts (so far) ending in some type of stoppage.
After five nasty knockouts in a row, Brazilian standout Melquizael Costa secured the first submission win of the night against 36-fight veteran Andre Fili.
Unfortunately for ‘Touchy’ Fili, who has been a UFC fighter for almost 12 years, fans on social media aren’t happy with the manner in which that first-round stoppage occurred.
Fans criticize 36-fight veteran over rookie error at UFC Seattle
On the UFC Seattle prelims, popular Brazilian contender Melquizael Costa scored the biggest win of his professional career as he tapped out Andre ‘Touchy’ Fili with a guillotine choke in the very first round.
By itself, that result wouldn’t catch many fans by surprise – with Costa being a seasoned grappler with seven (now eight) submission wins on his record; however, how he got to the choke has raised one or two eyebrows.
Fili was expected to keep the fight firmly within his preferred realm, i.e., on the feet. Yet the UFC veteran opted to shoot in for an early takedown, before moving his head on the inside of Costa; essentially giving up his neck for the submission.
UFC lightweight contender Renato Moicano was one of the first to react to the strange submission, writing on X: “Unbelievable, he put himself in the guillotine.”
Comments of “High level stuff,” “The guard was wide open,” and “Don’t know why he took him down, that was pretty stupid ngl,” can be found in the reply section of that post.
Similar sentiments are being shared across social media; with fans simply noting that Fili is far too experienced of an MMA fighter to be making such a rookie error.
“Fili made a massive mistake right there,” wrote one fan, with another adding “That was really embarrassing” and also, “Andre Fili just made the dumbest move ever m—— has 40 UFC fights and still makes debutant mistakes.”
Costa reacts to first-round submission win at UFC Seattle
Speaking to Michael Bisping in the octagon, Costa was understandably over the moon to have made the most of such an enormous opportunity so early into his fledgling UFC career.
“To me, it was an honor to have the opportunity to fight Andre Fili. Back in the day, when I was in the countryside of Brazil so far removed from this and I watched him fight Max Holloway – it was an honor to be able to share the octagon with him.”
When asked whether he was surprised to see Fili shoot for a takedown when his submission game was so well-known, Costa praised the UFC veteran as being as ‘well-rounded’ as they come.
“I think he’s a complete fighter, I know that he’s good at striking but we know his timing; he’s been at this for a long time, so he knows how to play the game – including on the ground.”
So, when does Costa want to make his return? Well, if he had his way, he’d be competing on next weekend’s UFC Fight Night card at The Apex.
“Hey Dana, if you need me next week – CHAMA!”
Costa is now 22-7 as a professional and 3-2 under the UFC banner.