UFC 334 Bout Order Puts Melquizael Costa on Early Prelims, Drawing Fan Pushback

Melquizael Costa’s return to the UFC after his first main event is set for the early prelims at UFC 334, a placement that has prompted questions about how the card is arranged. Stephen Thompson’s retirement bout is also outside the main card, giving fans two reasons to scrutinize the event’s current running order.

After a second straight card at the Meta Apex this Saturday, the UFC heads to Madison Square Garden for its November event. UFC 334 has two title fights at the top: heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane defends against Josh Hokit, and Kayla Harrison faces Amanda Nunes, who is returning from retirement to challenge for the women’s bantamweight title.

Those fights anchor a card with several other notable names, but the order below them has become part of the conversation. Reporter Marcel Dorff posted the updated bout order on X. Under the two title fights, the listed main-card contests are Caio Borralho against Yousri Belgaroui, Uros Medic against Kevin Holland, and Bilal Hasan against Luis Gurule.

Costa’s placement stands out after a main event

Costa is scheduled to close the early prelims against Jared “Flash” Gordon. That slot comes six months after Costa headlined a UFC Fight Night against longtime contender Arnold Allen. Costa lost that May bout by unanimous decision, but the change in placement has still caught fans’ attention.

The contrast is sharper because Costa arrives at this fight after a notable stretch at featherweight. He went 6-1 at 145 pounds before moving up to lightweight. Along the way, he became the first fighter to stop Dan Ige, knocking him out with a spinning back kick at UFC Houston. That result helped set up the main event against Allen.

A main-event assignment doesn’t guarantee a fighter a prominent position on the next card. The UFC’s event order can reflect a range of considerations, and the source provides no explanation for Costa’s placement. Still, fans are weighing the sequence: a fighter who headlined in May is now listed on the early prelims, while Hasan and Gurule are scheduled to open the main card.

That comparison prompted one commenter to ask why Costa was on the early prelims. Another called the placement “wild,” while a third pointed to the Allen fight and questioned why Costa would sit below the main-card opener. The criticism is about the visible order, not the result of Costa’s last fight: the loss to Allen is part of his record, but the bout itself gave him a main-event platform only months ago.

Thompson’s farewell adds another point of debate

Thompson’s place on the card is a separate concern for some fans. The former welterweight title challenger is retiring after his fight with Charles Radtke, which is listed as the featured prelim. Thompson had asked for a farewell bout at Madison Square Garden, and the UFC granted that request by booking him for UFC 334.

His career status makes the placement easy to understand as a talking point, even with three other bouts already assigned to the main card beneath the title fights. One fan argued that Thompson should open the main card, adding, “Put some respect on him.” That reaction reflects a familiar tension in card building: the bout order has to fit the event’s structure, while fans also want a farewell fight to receive a visible send-off.

The two complaints carry different weight. Costa’s early-prelim slot is being questioned against the recency of his main event and his move to a new division. Thompson’s featured-prelim position is being challenged because this will be his final fight. Neither placement changes the matchups, but both influence how fans read the card before the first bout begins.

For Costa, UFC 334 offers a chance to start his lightweight run against Gordon after the unanimous-decision loss to Allen. For Thompson, the card marks the end of his fighting career. The current order puts both stories outside the main card, and the response suggests fans will keep watching for a revised schedule before fight night. A change could answer the criticism; if the order stands, the debate is likely to remain part of the event’s build.