The animosity did not stay in the cage. Swept by Melquizael Costa during UFC Vegas 112 on December 13, Morgan Charrière suffered a second knockout from his rival, this time through the press. Speaking to the specialized media MMA Fighting, the Brazilian crack, author of a devastating rear leg high-kick after only 1′14″ of combat, looked back on his triumph during an interview this Thursday.
And the least we can say is that the man with 25 successes in 32 fights in the -66 kg (featherweight) category was not kind to his French rival. Costa did not hesitate to describe him as “a super arrogant guy, full of himself”. “He’s the first guy I’ve faced that I really don’t like,” he revealed, even though Charrière is known to be a pretty fair fighter.
“He still tastes like my foot on his face.”
“I’ve never seen anyone so disgusting.” He thought he already owned the belt,” said the 29-year-old Brazilian, who will be one of the main outsiders for the world title in his category in 2026. “Champions don’t behave like clowns. My coach went to greet him, but he looked away, you know? Only wind, nothing concrete,” he exclaimed, quite proud of having subjected the native of Poissy (Yvelines) to his first knockout in 34 fights. “He took a good kick in the face to learn respect. He still tastes like my foot on his face,” Costa laughed.
Accustomed to team duels, Charrière, renowned for being one of the most spectacular fighters on the planet, fell hard in the Las Vegas ring. Stunned, he could even have left with more damage if his opponent had not held back. Indeed, the latter did not follow to the ground after sending his decisive kick. “The problem is that I’m too nice, man,” he lamented, still speaking to MMA Fighting.
“He lacked confidence when we looked into each other’s eyes”
“My coach told me: You should have fired two more shots to finish off that son of a bitch. But he was already dead, you see? As soon as he fell like that, I said to myself: The guy is already finished, it’s okay, it’s over. It was no use,” confided the winner, certain that he was going to win from the moment of weigh-in. “I felt like he lacked confidence when we looked into each other’s eyes. He acted like he didn’t really want to be there. Or maybe he thought it would be easy. And for me, it was. »
Credited with a perfect year with four wins and no losses in 2025 in the UFC, Melquizael Costa had everything planned before the fight. “Before entering the ring, I told my physical trainer: Brother, film this, I’ll knock him out with this kick. (…) I faked a direct-hook sequence in the ribs and went to the head. And that’s exactly what happened. » Morgan Charrière will appreciate…
