Melquizael Costa Submits Andre Fili at UFC Seattle
Melquizael Costa finished Andre Fili with a guillotine choke at 4:30 of Round 1 in Seattle on February 22, 2025. Their featherweight bout at Climate Pledge Arena began with both men exchanging strikes, but it was Fili’s takedown attempt that created the opening for Costa’s submission. The official scorecard records the first-round finish, and the promotion’s Seattle recap confirms the result.
Fili tried to bring Costa to the canvas, but Costa used the move to attack from underneath and wrap the guillotine around his opponent’s neck. Fili tapped before the end of the opening round. The finish gave Costa his third win in the promotion and his second consecutive victory at the time. It also marked Fili’s first submission loss in roughly a decade, as the MMA Junkie interview above notes. The player is a post-fight interview with Costa, not a recording of the contest itself.
The matchup paired a long-serving featherweight with a Brazilian contender who was beginning to make the most of his opportunities. Costa had joined the roster in 2023 and was coming off a victory over Shayilan Nuerdanbieke in 2024. He followed the Seattle finish with more wins, closing 2025 with a first-round knockout of Morgan Charriere. A first main event followed in 2026, but Arnold Allen halted Costa’s winning run with a unanimous decision on May 16. The promotion’s fighter history and Allen event recap provide the later record.
Fili’s Seattle loss was one point in a long career marked by alternating results and sudden finishes. After competing against Costa, he later rebounded with wins, including a split decision over Christian Rodriguez in August 2025. He most recently knocked out Kai Kamaka III by a second-round head kick on October 10, 2026. Fili’s official fighter history tracks those results, while the promotion’s October scorecard coverage documents the Kamaka finish. The result shows that the veteran remained active and capable of turning a single opening into a quick ending, years after his Seattle bout with Costa.
For Costa, the guillotine was a sign of how quickly he could convert a grappling exchange into a finish. The official stoppage came at 4:30 of the first round, after Fili initiated the takedown and Costa found the choke from his back. Costa’s run later produced wins over several established featherweights before Allen stopped it on the scorecards. Fili, meanwhile, has continued to compete and most recently returned to the win column with a knockout. The Seattle bout remains a sharp snapshot of both men’s careers: one fighter capitalizing on a brief opening, and another recovering over time.
