Noche UFC

Noche UFC ("UFC Night") is the name the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion, gives to a series of events held in September, commemorating Mexican Independence Day. These events may be numbered or presented as a single "Fight Night" event.

What characterizes Noche UFC is that most of the fight card, including the main event, features a variety of Mexican fighters and those foreign fighters with Mexican ancestry.

History

UFC Fight Night 227, which fell on September 16, was the first to bear the promotional name Noche UFC. Alexa Grasso, the organization's first Mexican woman world champion, made her first defense of the women's flyweight championship against former champion Valentina Shevchenko, whom she had previously defeated in March.

Initially, Noche UFC was thought to be a one-off event, but in early 2024, White announced that UFC 306 would be called "Noche UFC 2". The event took place on September 15 at the newly built Sphere, where the main event was between Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight championship, while the trilogy fight between Grasso and Shevchenko for the women's flyweight championship was moved to the co-main event.

"Noche UFC 3" was planned to take place Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico as part of the UFC 320 event. The card was moved to San Antonio, Texas due to the construction of Arena Guadalajara being halted. Diego Lopes and Jean Silva were announced as the main event fighters.

The fourth edition of Noche UFC will take place on September 12, 2026, as part of the UFC Fight Night 288 event, with Silva once again headlining the card in a bout against Yair Rodríguez.

Events

Name Event Date Venue Ref.
Noche UFC 4 UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Delgado September 12, 2026 Desert Diamond Arena
Noche UFC 3 UFC Fight Night: Lopes vs. Silva September 13, 2025 Frost Bank Center
Noche UFC 2 UFC 306: O'Malley vs. Dvalishvili September 14, 2024 Sphere
Noche UFC 1 UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 September 16, 2023 T-Mobile Arena

See also

References

  1. ↑ "¿Por qué UFC hizo una noche mexicana?". Claro Sports. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  2. ↑ "Cómo Noche UFC representa el presente y apunta al futuro de México en la promotora". ESPN.com. 12 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  3. ↑ Staff (2023-06-24). "Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2 UFC flyweight title rematch set for September". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  4. ↑ Abhishek Nambiar (2023-06-29). "Breaking: Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2 set to headline UFC card on Mexican Independence Day". sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2023-06-29.[dead link]
  5. ↑ "UFC to hold event at Las Vegas Sphere in 2024". ESPN.com. 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  6. ↑ Nolan King (2024-07-26). "Noche UFC at Sphere gets Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili title-fight headliner". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  7. ↑ Nolan King (2024-07-26). "Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 3 to co-headline Noche UFC at Sphere". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  8. ↑ Damon Martin (2025-05-31). "Noche UFC 3 moves from Guadalajara, Mexico to San Antonio". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
  9. ↑ Damon Martin (2025-06-24). "Diego Lopes vs. Jean Silva booked as main event for latest Noche UFC". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
  10. ↑ Jordan Ellis (2026-08-01). "Yair Rodriguez set to end 18-month layoff by headlining Noche UFC". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
  11. ↑ Marcel Dorff (2026-07-09). "Former champion, title challenger set for Noche UFC". heavy.com. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  12. ↑ Damon Martin (2025-06-24). "Diego Lopes vs. Jean Silva booked as main event for latest Noche UFC". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
  13. ↑ Nolan King (2024-07-26). "Noche UFC at Sphere gets Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili title-fight headliner". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  14. ↑ Staff (2023-06-24). "Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2 UFC flyweight title rematch set for September". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-06-24.