Latest news with #MexicanIndependenceDay
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Diego Lopes hopes for future clash vs. Yair Rodriguez: 'I will ask for that fight again'
Diego Lopes wants to eventually get his hands on Yair Rodriguez. After their viral heated confrontation at the UFC 314 pre-fight press conference in April, the UFC tried to book the two for the headliner of this year's Noche UFC – the promotion's annual celebration of Mexican Independence Day. Lopes (27-6 MMA, 6-1 UFC) was coming off a decision loss to Alexander Volkanovski in a championship bout for the vacant UFC featherweight belt, and Rodriguez (20-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) off a decision win over former Bellator champion Patricio Freire at UFC 314. Advertisement Unfortunately, the fight wasn't able to materialize. Rodriguez said he couldn't accept the fight due to nagging injuries from the fight against "Pitbull," which didn't surprise Lopes. "I knew that the fight with Yair was going to be hard to get done, I don't need to say anything, we know his past record," Lopes told Hablemos MMA in Spanish. "We know how he sometimes sits out and wants things to fall on his lap like a gift. His past record speaks for itself. I don't need to name names, but he hasn't accepted many fights. I'm the opposite, I don't sit and wait for anything. If you want to fight, accept the fight, and let's go. So Jean Silva wants to fight, let's fight then." Lopes ended up getting booked against Silva, a fellow Brazilian, to headline Noche UFC – which goes down on Sept. 13 in San Antonio. It was quite the odyssey to get to this booking, as UFC offered him a plethora of names, including newcomer Aaron Pico. "I knew I was going to fight at Noche UFC no matter what happened in my last fight, I was going to fight there," Lopes explained. "After I lost the title fight and everything that happened with UFC changing the event to a Fight Night, they offered me, well before that, they had offered me a fight against Aaron Pico. I said no problem. Two days later, I get offered Jean Silva and I said no problem, we accepted. Two more weeks passed after they change the event to a Fight Night ad they said you vs. Yair in the main event of Noche UFC. Again, I accepted, no problem. Then UFC goes to work on the fight, and they come around again offering me Jean Silva. Jean Silva for Noche UFC? No problem. Advertisement "In the position that I'm in, I don't have options. My option is to fight against the guys below me, and what a better way to show I'm deserving of my position and I deserve being considered to fight again for the title by beating the guy who has the most hype right now. Exactly what I went through is what he's going through right now. I went up a lot in level, I exceeded expectations, beat a guy in the top 5 and went on to fight for the title. I think it's the same trajectory the UFC is doing for him. Unfortunately, he has to fight me and I want to prove my arrival was no strike of luck." Although the Rodriguez fight couldn't come together, Lopes does hope to get paired against him in the future. As seen in the UFC 314 pre-fight press conference, there's plenty of bad blood between the two and unsettled business that stems from an alleged altercation between Lopes and Rodriguez's friend, former UFC fighter Marco Beltran, at a regional Mexican event years ago. "I hope so, I hope that in the future the fight happens," Lopes said. "If I win on September 13 and the UFC does the winner of Movsar Evloev vs. Aaron Pico against Volkanovski, and he's there, then I will ask for that fight again." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Diego Lopes hopes for future UFC clash vs. Yair Rodriguez
USA Today
08-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Diego Lopes hopes for future clash vs. Yair Rodriguez: 'I will ask for that fight again'
Diego Lopes hopes to cross paths with Yair Rodriguez. Diego Lopes wants to eventually get his hands on Yair Rodriguez. After their viral heated confrontation at the UFC 314 pre-fight press conference in April, the UFC tried to book the two for the headliner of this year's Noche UFC – the promotion's annual celebration of Mexican Independence Day. Lopes (27-6 MMA, 6-1 UFC) was coming off a decision loss to Alexander Volkanovski in a championship bout for the vacant UFC featherweight belt, and Rodriguez (20-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) off a decision win over former Bellator champion Patricio Freire at UFC 314. Unfortunately, the fight wasn't able to materialize. Rodriguez said he couldn't accept the fight due to nagging injuries from the fight against "Pitbull," which didn't surprise Lopes. "I knew that the fight with Yair was going to be hard to get done, I don't need to say anything, we know his past record," Lopes told Hablemos MMA in Spanish. "We know how he sometimes sits out and wants things to fall on his lap like a gift. His past record speaks for itself. I don't need to name names, but he hasn't accepted many fights. I'm the opposite, I don't sit and wait for anything. If you want to fight, accept the fight, and let's go. So Jean Silva wants to fight, let's fight then." Lopes ended up getting booked against Silva, a fellow Brazilian, to headline Noche UFC – which goes down on Sept. 13 in San Antonio. It was quite the odyssey to get to this booking, as UFC offered him a plethora of names, including newcomer Aaron Pico. "I knew I was going to fight at Noche UFC no matter what happened in my last fight, I was going to fight there," Lopes explained. "After I lost the title fight and everything that happened with UFC changing the event to a Fight Night, they offered me, well before that, they had offered me a fight against Aaron Pico. I said no problem. Two days later, I get offered Jean Silva and I said no problem, we accepted. Two more weeks passed after they change the event to a Fight Night ad they said you vs. Yair in the main event of Noche UFC. Again, I accepted, no problem. Then UFC goes to work on the fight, and they come around again offering me Jean Silva. Jean Silva for Noche UFC? No problem. "In the position that I'm in, I don't have options. My option is to fight against the guys below me, and what a better way to show I'm deserving of my position and I deserve being considered to fight again for the title by beating the guy who has the most hype right now. Exactly what I went through is what he's going through right now. I went up a lot in level, I exceeded expectations, beat a guy in the top 5 and went on to fight for the title. I think it's the same trajectory the UFC is doing for him. Unfortunately, he has to fight me and I want to prove my arrival was no strike of luck." Although the Rodriguez fight couldn't come together, Lopes does hope to get paired against him in the future. As seen in the UFC 314 pre-fight press conference, there's plenty of bad blood between the two and unsettled business that stems from an alleged altercation between Lopes and Rodriguez's friend, former UFC fighter Marco Beltran, at a regional Mexican event years ago. "I hope so, I hope that in the future the fight happens," Lopes said. "If I win on September 13 and the UFC does the winner of Movsar Evloev vs. Aaron Pico against Volkanovski, and he's there, then I will ask for that fight again."
USA Today
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
UFC's Marc Ratner: Guadalajara event still in plans after 'arena wasn't quite ready'
The octagon will eventually land in Guadalajara and its new arena, but delayed construction forced an alteration to this year's Noche UFC festivities. It was originally announced that the third-annual Noche UFC event to celebrated Mexican Independence Day would, for the first time, take place in Mexico. The card was set for Sept. 13 in Guadalajara, but it was subsequently shifted to San Antonio, Texas, where the card headlined by Diego Lopes vs. Jean Silva will now unfold. Although things didn't go according to plan this time, UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner admits returning to the city and venue in the future remains a priority. "Guadalajara is still in our plans," Ratner told MMA Junkie Radio in a recent interview. "The arena wasn't quite ready yet. The roof and stuff needed more work and we couldn't go there without having everything really done. I think you will see it. Maybe not this year, but we'll go back there. We want to go back there." The UFC's first Noche UFC event in 2023 went down at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It levelled up in 2024, with the card taking place at Sphere in Las Vegas in one of the most elaborately-produced events in UFC history. Ratner said a return to Sphere is not currently in consideration and, as UFC CEO Dana White said previously, it was likely a one-off. "I have heard no rumblings (of another Sphere show)," Ratner said. "It was a very expensive show. Was over $20 million spent on all the production and stuff. It was a huge success. I loved being involved there and being there. Whether we go back I don't have that answer, but so far no rumblings."
USA Today
30-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Tracy Cortez not thrilled with dominant UFC 317 win, but knows she's a flyweight contender
LAS VEGAS – Tracy Cortez met with MMA Junkie and other media members Saturday after her unanimous decision win over Viviane Araujo at UFC 317. Cortez (12-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) swept the scorecards against Araujo (13-7 MMA, 7-6 UFC) on the prelims at T-Mobile Arena to get back in the win column nearly a year after the first loss of her UFC tenure, which came against ex-strawweight champion Rose Namajunas. Despite the win, Cortez, who was about a 2-1 betting favorite, said she wasn't happy leaving without a stoppage. 'I'm not too happy. I was trying to finish it within the first round,' Cortez said at her post-fight news conference. 'My coaches were telling me to be patient and let it go when I had that guillotine (choke). 'I wanted a submission … I wanted a finish – but unfortunately, I didn't get it.' Cortez said she wants to keep climbing up the flyweight ladder now that she's back on the right side of things, and if she can make her way to the promotion's annual Noche UFC celebration event for Mexican Independence Day, she'd like to be part of it. Check out Cortez's post-fight interview in the video below.
USA Today
25-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Diego Lopes vs. Jean Silva set to headline Noche UFC in San Antonio
A fan-favorite booking between Diego Lopes and Jean Silva has been scheduled for the main event of Noche UFC in September. Noche UFC just got one of the most exciting bookings of 2025. Brazilian brawlers Diego Lopes and Jean Silva have been scheduled to fight in the main event of the event celebrating Mexican Independence Day, which is set to go down on Sept. 13 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. UFC CEO Dana White officially announced the matchup Tuesday evening on Instagram. Lopes (27-7 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and Silva (16-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) both fought on the same card last month at UFC 314 in Miami. Lopes competed in the main event, falling short in a unanimous decision against Alexander Voplkanovski for the vacant featherweight title. The loss snapped a five-fight winning streak that turned Lopes from a UFC newcomer to a contender and one of the biggest stars in the division. Meanwhile, Silva secured the biggest win of his career, submitting contender Bryce Mitchell in the main card. Silva is now on an impressive 13-fight winning streak, with five of those victories coming in the UFC. Silva's last career defeat took place in 2018 in the regional circuit of Brazil.
