Dana White announces Diego Lopes vs Jean Silva headlines Noche UFC

UFC CEO Dana White has announced a featherweight banger is set to headline Noche UFC.

White took to Instagram Live on Tuesday night to reveal that Diego Lopes will face Jean Silva in the main event of Noche UFC on in San Antonio on September 13. Noche UFC was originally supposed to be a pay-per-view card, but the arena in Mexico wasn’t going to be ready in time, so the promotion moved it to San Antonio and made it a Fight Night card.

Diego Lopes (26-7) is coming off a decision loss to Alexander Volkanovski for the vacant featherweight title. The Brazilian was on a five-fight winning streak as he had wins over Brian Ortega, Dan Ige, Sodiq Yusuff, Pat Sabatini, and Gavin Tucker. Lopes is 5-2 in the UFC, as his other loss came on short notice in his debut to Movsar Evloev by decision. Lopes is ranked second at featherweight.

Jean Silva (16-2) is a perfect 5-0 in the UFC and is coming off a submission win over Bryce Mitchell. Before that, he knocked out Melsik Baghdasaryan. He also has knockout wins over Drew Dober, Charles Jourdain, and Westin Wilson in his debut. Silva is ranked 11th at featherweight. This will be his first main event and first five-round fight in the UFC.

Dana White says Noche UFC will lead into Canelo vs Crawford

On the same night as Noche UFC, there is the highly anticipated boxing match between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford.

White is helping co-promote the boxing match, and he revealed Noche UFC won’t overlap with the boxing match.

“If you can get people to stay home on a Saturday night, you put on two great fights on the same night,” White said. “We have UFC Noche that night. I know there are a lot of questions about this. The main cards will not cross over. You’ll be able to watch one right into the other. So, to be a part of a historic night on Mexican Independence Day, I love it. It’s going to be a historic night of fighting.”

So, fight fans will have a chance to watch Lopes throw down with Silva before watching Alvarez take on Crawford.