Noche UFC Gets New Main Event Fight After Losing Ex-UFC Champion

The headlining fight for this year’s Noche UFC card has been hit with a major change less than a month out from the event.

Scheduled to take place at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ on September 12, this year’s edition of Noche UFC will mark the fourth consecutive year the UFC has put together a dedicated event to celebrate Mexican Independence Day.

Noche UFC 4 is stacked with notable names and significant matchups despite only being a UFC Fight Night card, but this week news broke that Yair Rodriguez has unfortunately been forced out of his scheduled main event out with Jean Silva.

Jose Delgado Replaces Yair Rodriguez for Noche UFC Main Event

The announcement left Noche UFC in a tough spot given that we’re less than a month out from the card, but MMA Fighting was the first to report that the UFC acted quickly to rebook Silva against fellow top-ranked featherweight contender Jose Delgado.

A contract winner on the 2024 edition of Dana White’s Contender Series, Delgado entered his DWCS opportunity following four-straight finishes and knocked out the formerly-undefeated Ernie Juarez to impress Dana White and earn a spot on the UFC roster.

Jose Miguel Delgado (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Hyder Amil (red gloves) during UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The 28-year-old made an immediate impact in the UFC when he debuted the following year, as back-to-back first round knockouts of Connor Matthews and another previously unbeaten opponent in Hyder Amil extended his finishing streak to seven fights.

Austin Bashi (red gloves) fights Jose Miguel Delgado (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Paycom Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Delgado unfortunately missed weight ahead of a UFC 321 matchup with Nathaniel Wood that he lost via unanimous decision, but he returned to the win column by beating Andre Fili in March before he most recently took a decision over Austin Bashi at UFC Oklahoma City.

Jean Silva Set to Defend Ranking in Short-Notice Noche UFC Fight

Headlining a Noche UFC card in your home state would obviously have been hard for Delgado to pass up under any circumstances, but he’ll also get the chance to vault straight into featherweight title contention if he’s able to upset Silva on September 12.

Currently ranked as the featherweight division’s #6 contender in the Meta UFC Top 15, Silva is set to headline Noche UFC for the second consecutive year after he previously met Diego Lopes at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, TX last September.

Diego Lopes (red gloves) fights Jean Silva (blue gloves) during Noche UFC at Frost Bank Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“Lord” brought an unbeaten UFC record into that fight but was stopped in the second round, which set Lopes up for his second failed featherweight title bid against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 325.

Jean Silva (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Diego Lopes (red gloves) during Noche UFC at Frost Bank Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Silva returned to action in January at UFC 324, where he took a unanimous decision over Arnold Allen to put himself right back in the featherweight title mix.

Arnold Allen (red gloves) fights Jean Silva (blue gloves) during UFC 324 at T-Mobile Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The new Noche UFC main event still features some significant stakes for the featherweight division even after the withdrawal of Rodriguez, and the card currently features a total of 13 scheduled fights with just a few weeks to go until the event.

Noche UFC 4 Fight Card

Main Event: Jean Silva vs. Jose Delgado

Manon Fiorot vs. Alexa Grasso

Brandon Moreno vs. Joseph Morales

Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Curtis Blaydes

Tim Elliott vs. Edgar Chairez

David Martinez vs. Dan Ige

JJ Aldrich vs. Regina Tarin

Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Muslim Salikhov

Drakkar Klose vs. Tommy Gantt

Tommy McMillen vs. Marwan Rahiki

Rafa Garcia vs. Rongzhu

Rodrigo Vera vs. Ramiro Jimenez

Yousri Belgaroui vs. Djorden Santos

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