LAS VEGAS – Alessandro Costa met the media Saturday after his win over Matt Schnell at UFC Fight Night 278.

Costa (16-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) pounded out Schnell (17-11 MMA, 7-9 UFC) with a first-round TKO to close out the prelims at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Schnell announced his retirement the day after the loss.

Costa and Schnell first were supposed to fight in September 2024, but Costa had to pull out. Schnell fought and lost to Cody Durden on short notice – and nearly retired after that setback, which would have left Costa without the chance to fight him.

"I'm very happy," Costa said at his post-fight news conference. "This was a fight that I already wanted. Ever since the fight got canceled, I had plans to fight him again. Today was the day, and thank God everything went exactly the way we planned.

"… When the injury happened and he talked about retirement, I just moved on mentally. I started focusing on other opportunities. But when he came back, it became a possibility again. It happened at the right time for me, coming off a win and building momentum. God's timing is perfect."

Now Costa said he wants to start making some serious momentum at flyweight.

"My next fight, I want someone in the top 15," Costa said. "That's my target now. I need to look at the rankings and see exactly where everything stands. Maybe then I can call out some names. Right now, I don't have a specific name in mind, but my focus is the top 15. I'm aiming for the top 15. That's the goal."

Check out Costa's post-fight interview in the video above.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: After retiring Schnell, Alessandro Costa wants top-15 UFC opponent