Noche UFC: Silva vs. Delgado Preview and Predictions

Noche UFC is back, baby. However, this year it will not take place in Mexico but instead head over to the Desert Diamond Arena located in Glendale, Arizona, for a fantastic night of fights. The main event is a featherweight matchup between the always entertaining Jean Silva and short-notice replacement Jose Delgado. Delgado stepped up to face Silva after Yair Rodriguez pulled out of the main event due to an injury. The co-main event features a pivotal flyweight matchup between Brandon Moreno and Joseph Morales. Moreno will look to rebound after a two-fight losing streak, while Morales will certainly be focused on playing spoiler and rising up the 125 rankings.

The main card features a number of great fights, including Tommy McMillen versus Marwan Rahiki, Manon Fiorot versus Alexa Grasso and Waldo Cortes-Acosta versus Curtis Blaydes.

The event airs live on Paramount+ starting at 2 p.m. ET. Combat Press writers Matt Petela and Andrew Sumian preview the action this week.

Jean Silva has lost just one fight since 2018; can he fend off rising prospect Jose Delgado in the main event?

Sumian: Yes, he can, and he will. Really? This is the best we could find to challenge the always entertaining Jean Silva for Noche UFC? Props to Jose Delgado for stepping up after Yair Rodriguez pulled out, but it would have been great if we could have added a bit more fire. Anyway, Jean Silva is going to win this fight. He has fought the vastly better competition, is more experienced and is a crazy person. Delgado has some good skills, but he is certainly not ready for what Silva is going to bring. Silva by finish in round two.

Former champion Brandon Moreno has lost back-to-back fights; can he get back on track by defeating Joseph Morales?

Sumian: Brandon Moreno has looked like a shell of his former self in his last two fights that resulted in losses. In both those fights, he was handily dominated from start to finish. It seems like the years have finally caught up to the former flyweight champion, but he is certainly getting a step down in competition in the form of Joseph Morales. Morales is on a solid five-fight win streak and is 2-0 since returning to the UFC while also winning the Ultimate Fighter 33 Flyweight Tournament. Moreno is only 32, but it feels like he can be 48 for how active and game he has been in his 33 professional fights. While I do think Morales has a bright future, I am going to go with Moreno one more time and believe that he has enough to handle a fighter outside of the top 10. Moreno by 29-28 unanimous decision.

What one fighter’s UFC career is on the ropes at this event?

Sumian: I want to believe that the UFC will not cut Dan Ige with a loss given how awesome of a company man he is, but you never know. Ige is 1-4 in his last five fights and has started to look considerably worn in the last couple of years. Again, it would be difficult to imagine that they cut him after his save at UFC 303, but you simply cannot know in the Paramount era.

Which fight is the sleeper matchup on this card?

Sumian: The welterweight matchup between Ignacio Bahamondes and Muslim Salikhov is my pick for sure. Both guys are coming off losses and will be eager to get back in the win column. They combine for 30 finishes and should put on an amazing show before the start of the main card.

Who takes home the “Performance of the Night” honors?

Sumian: Tim Elliott. It is going to be a battle of submission artists between him and Edgar Chairez, but I think Elliott will pull off a pretty special submission yet again.

Pair this card with…

Sumian: Mexican food and boxing. Noche UFC is earlier in the day and features a number of fantastic Mexican natives. Once the event is over, you can switch over to boxing to watch Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn square off. This should be a very fun day for combat sports enthusiasts.