Noche UFC Features 5 Mexican Fighters as Brazilian Featherweights Headline Texas Event

Diego Lopes (26-7) and Jean Silva (16-2) will come together in an all-Brazilian affair on Saturday night when they headline Noche UFC in San Antonio, Texas. On one hand, Lopes is looking to bounce back from a failed 145lbs title attempt against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314, while Silva’s last fight was a win over Bryce Mitchell on the same Miami card. The event is themed around Mexican Independence Day, which has its official date on September 16th.

For the unversed, the UFC has been using the theme since 2023 to promote the Mexican talent that they have on their roster. Last year, the event historically took place in The Sphere in Las Vegas as UFC 306. For the 2025 rendition of Noche UFC, the event was originally meant to take place in Mexico. However, due to construction on the arena in Guadalajara, the event was moved to Texas. Not only will the event not take place in Mexico, but there will only be five Mexican-born athletes competing on the card. Let’s see who they are!

David Martinez competes in Noche UFC Co-Main Event Following Raul Rosas Jr.’s Withdrawal

Although no Mexican fighter will take the centre stage in the main event of Noche UFC, the co-main event of the evening will feature David Martinez (12-1). Fighting out of Coyoacán, Mexico, the bantamweight fighter takes the place of fellow Mexican Raul Rosas Jr., who withdrew from his bantamweight bout with Rob Font (22-8).

Moreover, it will be just Martinez’s second appearance in the UFC, as he looks to build on a first-round TKO over Saimon Oliveira in March at UFC Mexico. The Contender Series alum will face a tough test in the shape of UFC veteran Font, who is aiming to make it three wins in a row on Saturday night. Martinez goes into the bout with the American Font as a sizeable underdog, as he looks to become a ranked bantamweight contender.

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Martinez is one of just two Mexican-born fighters on the main card in Texas, the other being Rafa Garcia. The 17-4 lightweight will take on Jared Gordon, as Garcia is looking to build on a unanimous decision win over Vinc Pichel in March of 2025. As for Gordon, he is also coming off a win. In May, he defeated fellow veteran Thiago Moises via first-round TKO. Mexico will also be represented on the main card through Lopes, who resides in Puebla de Zaragoza, and Kelvin Gastelum, who has Mexican roots.

Noche UFC Prelims Sees Debut From Mexican Bantamweight

On the prelims of Noche UFC, there will be three Mexican-born fighters. Kicking off the Mexican action will be Monsterrat Rendon (6-1), who makes her third UFC appearance. Aiming to bounce back from a loss to Darya Zheleznyakova, she will welcome highly anticipated debutant Alice Pereira (5-0) to the organization, who is also the youngest female UFC fighter of all time.

Jesus Aguilar (11-3) is another Mexican competing on the card in a flyweight affair with Luis Gurule (10-1). Fighting in the UFC since 2023, Aguilar has a record of 3-2 since joining the company. His opponent, Gurule, will be looking to make amends for a debut loss to Ode Osbourne in April in his second UFC appearance.

The only debuting Mexican fighter at Noche UFC will be Santiago Luma (6-0), who fights out of Tijuana. Just 21 years old, ‘Borderboy’ has finished all six of his opponents thus far in his career. Luma will take on Vietnamese fighter Quang Le (9-2) in a bantamweight meeting on the prelims. Le is 1-2 in the UFC, having made his debut in August 2024, but is coming off a performance of the night submission win over Gaston Bolanos in May.

Other notable fights on the prelims include former world title challengers Tatiana Suarez (11-1) and Amanda Lemos (15-4-1) face off with one another, as well as Jose Medina (11-5) taking on Dusko Todrovic (12-6) at middleweight.