What’s next for Diego Lopes and Jean Silva after Noche UFC?

The UFC was in San Antonio, Texas, for a solid Noche UFC card. The main event saw Diego Lopes taking on Jean Silva in a pivotal fight at featherweight.

Entering the fight, Lopes was coming off a decision loss to Alexander Volkanovski for the belt and was a sizeable underdog in the bout. Silva, meanwhile, was a perfect 5-0 in the UFC and was set to headline his first UFC event.

Ultimately, it was Lopes who had a thrilling second-round TKO win to return to the win column and pull off the upset. Following Noche UFC, here is what I think should be next for Diego Lopes and Jean Silva.

Diego Lopes

Diego Lopes was the underdog going into Noche UFC. But he pulled off the upset as he was able to land a spinning back elbow that dropped Jean Silva en route to a TKO win. It was a great performance from Lopes, who proved he still is a title contender at featherweight.

With the win, Lopes should get a top-five opponent and may need a win or two to earn a title shot. A logical next fight is to face Yair Rodriguez, which would be a main event of a Fight Night card. The two have taken shots at one another and are bitter rivals. The winner of the bout could also get a title shot, so the stakes would be high for the fight.

Jean Silva

Jean Silva was looking to close in on a title shot with a great performance against Diego Lopes. Silva was having success early on, but he got caught by a spinning back elbow and was finished in the second round.

Following the loss, Silva is back to the drawing board, as he will look to get back on track. The Brazilian will need a step-down in competition and will likely fight in the first quarter of 2026. A logical next fight would be against David Onama, as it’s still a ranked opponent, but it would be a chance for him to get back on track.