On September 13, the UFC will host the third installment of Noche UFC, which now has its main event.
The event, which will take place on the same day as Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford, was downgraded from a PPV card to a Fight Night event after being relocated.
Following the delay of Arena Guadalajara’s opening, the card will now take place at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas with a dynamite matchup in the featherweight division topping the bill.
It has been expected for some time that a former UFC title challenger would feature in a prominent spot on the card with Diego Lopes revealing that he’d been offered three different opponents.
One of the names that the Brazilian mentioned was a fighter who Joe Rogan said looked like a world champion in his latest win, with that fight now being made official.
Diego Lopes reacts after Dana White announces that he’ll headline Noche UFC against Jean Silva
Via a video on Instagram, Dana White announced that the main event of this year’s Noche UFC will see Diego Lopes take on Jean Silva.
Lopes will be looking to bounce back from his loss to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314, where he came up short when attempting to capture the vacant title.
Silva has been one of the most talked about rising stars in the UFC since his debut in 2024, with his latest win over Bryce Mitchell in Miami seeing him claim the #11-ranking.
There are big stakes for Lopes in this fight as while he may be fighting down the rankings by some margin, the number next to Silva’s name doesn’t accurately reflect his current stock.
While many fans were hoping to see the Brazilian face Yair Rodriguez in a grudge match that started to build earlier this year, the main event for September 13 is sure to produce plenty of talking points.
Having already stated that he’d agreed to face Rodriguez, Silva or UFC newcomer Aaron Pico on the Noche UFC card, Lopes made his feelings on his upcoming bout clear on social media following the announcement.
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Jean Silva pushed for a title shot by comparing his trajectory to Diego Lopes’
Following his emphatic win over Bryce Mitchell at UFC 314, Jean Silva made the case for why he deserved a title shot in his next outing.
Silva made the argument on X that while Lopes had got a shot at the vacant title after going 5-1 inside the Octagon with three finishes, he had finished all five of his wins after debuting in January of 2024.
While his calls for a title shot didn’t end up working out, fighting Lopes in a main event might be the next best thing that the Brazilian could’ve secured.
With a win over Lopes at Noche UFC, it would be hard to deny Silva his title shot, especially given his popularity with the fans.