Preview: UFC on ESPN 58 Prelims

Featherweights

Melquizael Costa (20-7, 1-2 UFC) vs. Nuerdanbieke Shayilan (39-11, 3-2 UFC)

ODDS: Costa (-170), Shayilan (+142)

Two featherweights look to get back in the win column here. Shayilan’s pre-UFC career was built more on quantity than quality of fights, but he has generally done a solid job of staying above water inside the UFC. He’s a tank of an athlete, both strong and a bit stiff, and can usually coast his way to a victory when he can leverage his physical advantages, even if it still typically takes three rounds. Shayilan’s lone finish in the UFC is an interesting footnote, as his quick knockout of Darrick Minner led to the gambling investigation that brought down James Krause. At any rate, Shayilan’s straightforward style does sometimes leave him without a large margin for error, and things quickly turned against him in his last fight against Steve Garcia. It saw Garcia stage a sudden comeback to knock out Shayilan after a wrestling-heavy affair. Shayilan looks to rebound against a fellow recent Garcia victim in Costa, who’s looking to find the first real momentum of his UFC career. Costa looked ready to make an impact when he got the UFC call early in 2023, but he has settled in as a bit of a jack of all trades and master of none with an aimless approach. He seemingly has the skill to leave an impact on his fights, but he has yet to have a standout showing; and like Shayilan, he is coming off a second-round knockout loss to Garcia in a fight he was winning up to that point. The lean is that Costa can turn a few minor advantages in terms of grappling, cardio and athleticism into an impressive win, but Shayilan winning a grind wouldn’t be a shock. The pick is Costa via second-round knockout.

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Costa vs. Shayilan