Melquizael Costa now has a main-card test against Dan Ige booked at UFC Fight Night 267 on February 21. That matchup alone says the promotion sees him as more than just another name on the roster. When you’re booked against a ranked, battle-tested name, you’re ready to take your journey to the next level.
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But here’s what fans keep asking when the walkouts end: who stands behind ‘The Dalmatian’ when the cage door shuts? Who helped shape the contender who’s now knocking at the door of the featherweight rankings? Without further ado, let’s dive into all we know about the family side of Costa’s story!
Melquizael Costa’s Father and Mother
Costa doesn’t overshare about his private life, but he’s dropped a few clear markers. In a 2022 Instagram post, he tagged his mother and his wife with the caption: “These are the most important women in my life Happy Mother’s Day @cinlarissa @lucia_ana_ofc love you so much.” That line alone sketches the core of his home circle.
Publicly, the names we know are simple and scarce: his mother is Ana Lúcia, his father is Raimundo Lima, and his wife is Cintia Larissa. Costa’s daughter also appears on his Instagram from time to time, but he’s kept details about her and his family life guarded.
What we do know is how Melquizael Costa talks about his father when the topic comes up in official settings. In his UFC.com Q&A, he called his dad his hero and explained that the support didn’t always come easy.
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In his own words, “In the beginning he didn’t support me because he thought fighters had to be strong, and I was just skinny. But then we created a very strong bond and I now call him before every fight. He calms me down and makes jokes. He knows how to give me strength and how to motivate me.”
That’s not a small detail. Fighters talk about routines all the time with their walkout songs, warmups, and the last voice they hear before the cage. Melquizael Costa’s last call to his dad tells you where his emotional base sits. Now let’s delve a little further into his background.
More about Melquizael Costa’s background
Melquizael Costa’s path into fighting wasn’t a smooth entry through a polished gym door. In his UFC.com Q&A, he explained how it started in 2010 when friends invited him to train. He tried striking, got knocked out, then walked into jiu-jitsu and got submitted by a friend who claimed he could do it with one hand. Costa decided he needed to learn how to beat that guy, and that moment flipped a switch.
The early years weren’t just about learning techniques. Costa admitted he carried deep shyness from childhood and avoided people because of discrimination he faced due to his skin condition, vitiligo. He didn’t like taking his clothes off around others or taking pictures. At one point, he shared, “I was working in the countryside and didn’t even want to go back to the city; I was like an animal and avoided human interaction. Fighting helped me overcome all of those things, so I started training seriously and began enjoying it.”
There was resistance at home, too. The UFC featherweight said his family didn’t want him to fight. His brother was the only one who supported him at first. When his brother passed away in 2013, Costa said it hit him hard, but it also gave him the strength to keep going.
Years later, that same kid calls his dad for calm before a fight and leans on his wife, Cintia Larissa, as part of his inner circle. That support system doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. But when Melquizael Costa steps into the Octagon against Dan Ige, his family will be the foundation he leans on for support.