The main event for September’s UFC Noche event has been confirmed—and it’s a matchup fans will surely be excited about.
Featherweight contenders Diego Lopes and Jean Silva are set to go head-to-head over five rounds atop the showcase card, which is scheduled to take place at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio on September 13.
This will mark Lopes’ (26-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) first appearance since his unsuccessful attempt to capture the UFC featherweight title against Alexander Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 314 in April. Although the Brazilian was outpointed on that occasion, he entered the bout riding an impressive five-fight win streak, with notable victories over Sodiq Yusuff, Dan Ige, and Brian Ortega.
He now faces a major challenge in fellow Brazilian Jean Silva (16-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who has finished all five of his UFC opponents to date. A representative of The Fighting Nerds team, Silva entered the UFC with a win over Kevin Vallejos on Dana White’s Contender Series in late 2023 and has been on a dominant run ever since.
Silva cracked the featherweight top 15 after delivering a trio of knockouts over Weston Wilson, Charles Jourdain, and Drew Dober in 2024. A first-round KO of Melsik Baghdasaryan in February set up a high-profile bout with Bryce Mitchell at UFC 314, where Silva made a statement by submitting the American and cementing himself as a legitimate contender at 145 pounds.
September’s UFC Noche event—an annual tribute to Mexican Independence Day—was originally slated to take place in Guadalajara, Mexico, but has been moved to San Antonio due to concerns over venue availability. So far, the only other fight announced for the card is a lightweight clash between Jared Gordon (21-7, 1 NC MMA, 9-6, 1 NC UFC) and Rafa Garcia (17-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC).
