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Noche UFC
Fight By Fight Preview | Noche UFC
Get Ready For The Mexican Independence Day Celebration Event Headlined By The Flyweight Title Fight Rematch Between Alexa Grasso And Valentina Shevchenko.
The UFC celebrates Mexican Independence Day this Saturday by bringing Noche UFC to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
This weekend’s event is a celebration of the storied tradition of Latin American combat sports standouts, headlined by Alexa Grasso facing off with Valentina Shevchenko in a rematch for the UFC women’s flyweight title and featuring a host of Mexican athletes and competitors with Mexican heritage.
Here’s a detailed look at this weekend’s fight card in the latest edition of the Fight-By-Fight Preview.
Noche UFC
Main Event: Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko
Earlier this year, Alexa Grasso shocked the world by submitting Valentina Shevchenko to claim the flyweight title. Now, the two meet again, with Grasso looking to defend her belt and Shevchenko aiming to reclaim her lost title.
The win in March moved Grasso to 5-0 since transitioning to the 125-pound weight class, and showed how opportunistic and well-prepared the Mexican champion was heading into that fight. She pounced on Shevchenko’s spinning back kick attempt and never gave her a second to try and work free after taking her back, forcing her to defend and eventually drawing out the tap.
After dropping the opening round of their first encounter, Shevchenko was in complete control during the second and third, and cruising along in the fourth before disaster struck. She’d been on top of the division since December 2018 and very seldom challenged, though it’s worth noting that her two most recent outings produced her most competitive successful title defense and her first loss in the UFC at flyweight.
What’s great about running the matchup back right away is that we’re going to get answers to all those questions we have about how and why the first fight played out the way it did, at least in theory. We’ll also see how Grasso responds to entering as champion and how the last several months with the belt has impacted her, while also learning how Shevchenko responds to her first loss in quite some time.
Other Main Card Matches
Kevin Holland vs. Jack Della Maddalena
Kevin Holland raised his hand to face Jack Della Maddalena earlier this summer when the Australian was in need of an opponent. Now, after both earned victories in their most recent outings, the ranked welterweights do battle here.
The 30-year-old Holland secured a first-round submission win over Michael Chiesa at UFC 291 in July, lacing up a D’Arce choke midway through the opening stanza. It’s his second straight stoppage win and moves him to 4-1 since moving to the 170-pound weight class at the start of last year.
Della Maddalena was pushed harder by short-notice replacement Bassil Hafez than anyone else he’s faced in the UFC to date, but the ascending contender from Perth kept his perfect record in the Octagon intact and extended his winning streak to 15 by landing on the happy side of the split decision verdict. With a win on Saturday, he’ll join Kamaru Usman and Ian Machado Garry as only the third UFC welterweight to begin their careers with six or more consecutive victories.
Each of these men really enjoy fighting, and pitting them opposite one another should produce a tremendous contest this weekend. They’re each positioned in the lower third of the Top 15, but each shows a great deal of upside, and the winner should be facing someone with a single digit next to their name next time out.
Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Terrence Mitchell
Raul Rosas Jr. looks to get things moving in the right direction again when he steps in with veteran Terrence Mitchell on Saturday.
After impressing in his promotional debut last December, Rosas Jr. ran into Christian Rodriguez in April and was handed the first loss of his professional career. It was a rough night for the 18-year-old Mexican, who showed there is still a great deal he needs to learn and areas where he needs improvements if he hopes to make a long-term impact at the highest level, but time is on his side.
Mitchell lost to Kai Kara-France in the opening round on Season 24 of The Ultimate Fighter before returning to Alaska and continuing to post dominant victories. He was called up to face Cameron Saaiman on short notice in July, and things did not go well, as the young South African earned a first-round stoppage win.
Has Rosas Jr. addressed the issues that doomed his performance against Rodriguez earlier this year? Can Mitchell rebound with a full camp and collect his first UFC win? These questions and more will be answered on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Daniel Zellhuber vs. Christos Giagos
Daniel Zellhuber and Christos Giagos face off in a clash of lightweights coming off their best performance inside the Octagon in their last outings.
A member of the Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) Class of ’21, Zellhuber was a little gun shy in his debut loss to Trey Ogden. Last time out, however, he looked sharp and showed why he was such a highly regarded prospect upon arrival by thoroughly out-working veteran Lando Vannata.
Entering his last bout on a two-fight slide, Giagos collected a first-round knockout win over Ricky Glenn, felling the Midwest staple with a clean left hook just 95 seconds into the contest. “The Spartan” is now 6-6 inside the Octagon over two different stints with the promotion and represents a strong veteran test for the young Mexican prospect this weekend.
This is the exact type of fight everyone should want to see for someone like Zellhuber at this stage of his development: a good test against a well-rounded opponent with a wealth of experience. And for Giagos, it’s an opportunity to show that he’s at a different level than the 24-year-old “Golden Boy” and potentially pick up a second straight quality win.
Fernando Padilla vs. Kyle Nelson
In the main card opener, Fernando Padilla and Kyle Nelson face off in a battle of featherweights looking to secure a second consecutive victory.
Padilla signed with the promotion back in 2021, but only made his debut appearance in the Octagon earlier this year, as visa issues and various hinderances delayed his arrival. It proved to be worth the wait though, as the 26-year-old dropped and stopped Julian Erosa in under two minutes to push his record to 15-4 overall.
Nelson entered 2023 on a two-fight skid, but enters this one unbeaten in his last two after battling Dohoo Choi to a draw in February and besting Blake Bilder in Vancouver in June. “The Monster” officially has only one more fight than Padilla, but the level of competition he’s faced is much greater, so it will be interesting to see how that factors into things this weekend.
This is a matchup of two featherweights that are big for the division in different ways, as Padilla is tall and brandishes a 76-inch reach, while Nelson is slightly shorter, but strong and dense for the weight class. Whichever man is able to use their respective physical advantage best could very well rule the day.
Preliminary Card Matches
Loopy Godinez vs. Elise Reed
Strawweights Loopy Godinez and Elise Reed face off in the final preliminary card bout of the night.
Godinez enters on a two-fight winning streak and having earned victories in four of her last five, while Reed checks in after a unanimous decision victory over Jinh Yu Frey in June. This is a clash of styles between a powerful grappler with improving boxing (Godinez) and a kick-heavy striker who utilizes a lot of footwork and movement (Reed), and it could come down to who is able to impose their will or make the better adjustments mid-fight.
Roman Kopylov vs. Josh Fremd
Action shifts to the middleweight division as streaking competitors Roman Kopylov and Josh Fremd meet on Saturday’s prelims.
After dropping his first two UFC appearances, Kopylov touches down in Las Vegas having earned three straight victories, all by way of stoppage. Fremd has collected consecutive victories, submitting Sedriques Dumas before out-hustling Jamie Pickett on short notice just last month.
Who will keep things rolling and who will be forced to grapple with a return to the wrong side of the results?
Edgar Chairez vs. Daniel Lacerda
Edgar Chairez makes his first appearance with a full camp this weekend, squaring off with aggressive Brazilian Daniel Lacerda.
Chairez was pulled from a scheduled DWCS appearance to face Tatsuro Taira earlier this year, pushing the Japanese prospect to the limit in a losing effort. Despite having positive moments in each of his first four outings, Lacerda heads into this one still searching for his first UFC victory.
While it’s unknown which of these all-action fighters will collect their first UFC win this weekend, what is guaranteed is that it’s going to be fireworks once these two hit the Octagon together on Saturday.
Tracy Cortez vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
Tracy Cortez and Jasmine Jasudavicius cross paths here in a battle of talented flyweights looking to keep pace in the active, ever-changing division.
A perfect 4-0 in the UFC since matriculating to the Octagon, Cortez returns for the first time since out-grappling Melissa Gatto in May 2022. Jasudavicius has already earned a pair of victories this year, out-hustling both Gabriella Fernandes and Miranda Maverick on the ground to move to 3-1 in the UFC and 9-2 overall.
Flyweight has been front and center over the last several weeks and is again here with the title on the line in the main event. Both these women will be looking to make a case for a step up in competition with a victory in this one, so expect a competitive affair from start to finish.
Alex Reyes vs. Charlie Campbell
A late change shuffles the lineup of this lightweight contest, as Alex Reyes now makes his return opposite DWCS alum Charlie Campbell
Reyes, the older brother of former light heavyweight contender Dominick Reyes, dropped his lone UFC appearance to date exactly six years prior to this weekend’s fight card, running afoul of Mike Perry. A member of the LAW MMA crew from Long Island, Campbell dropped his appearance on Season 5 of the annual talent search series to Chris Duncan but has since rebounded with a first-round stoppage win under the CFFC banner.
Who will garner their first UFC victory — the returning veteran looking to shake off the rust or the late-notice newcomer making his promotional debut?
Josefine Knutsson vs. Marnic Mann
Contender Series alums Josefine Knutsson and Marnic Mann face off in the strawweight opener on Saturday.
Knutsson was originally scheduled to face Iasmin Lucindo just a couple weeks ago following a strong performance at the APEX, and still gets the chance to make the walk for the first time here despite additional changes. Mann steps in to replace the young Brazilian, looking to build off her victory over Invicta FC staple Amber Brown back in April.
After being on the outside looking in not that long ago, one of these women is leaving Las Vegas with their first UFC victory in tow, and figuring out who that will be should make for an exciting way to kick off the festivities at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.
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