Alessandro Costa aims to get clean finish of Matt Schnell, earn spot in UFC flyweight rankings

Alessandro Costa sees himself as a big player in the UFC flyweight division. Soon, he believes he’ll prove that to the world.

Costa (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) returns to the cage Sept. 7 in Las Vegas to face Matt Schnell – one of the most seasoned fighters in the 125-pound division. Costa believes a win over Schnell (16-8 MMA, 6-6 UFC) should be more than enough to get him in the official UFC rankings, especially if he gets a stoppage.

“Of course, I’m fighting for a spot in the rankings,” Costa told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I believe he’s ranked 11 or 12. Either way, that’s a good position. I’m sure that if I beat him, I will enter the rankings.

“I just have my doubts about the position – whether it will be top 15 or top 10. But I’m confident that, with a win, I’ll enter the rankings, which is my goal for this year. That’s what I had planned. I wanted to train well, make smart moves and not take that many short-notice fights and enter the rankings, so in the future I can fight for the title.”

Costa is 2-1 in his past three outings, with his lone loss coming in a close decision against former UFC title challenger Steve Erceg. In his most recent outing back in May, Costa picked up a second-round TKO over Peru’s Kevin Borjas.

He’s confident he can keep the momentum going and also put away Schnell.

“He’s a tough and very experienced fighter in the UFC, but we’ve also noticed that he has many holes in his game, and I’m going to take advantage of that so I can look for the knockout or submission due to those holes,” Costa explained. “Of course, he’s dangerous, as well. He’s shown that in his fights. He’s someone that exposes himself but is also very dangerous. We put together a good strategy for his style, and I’m confident in my plan.”