Noche UFC, Random Land! 14 Tidbits, Facts And Storylines

After an absolutely wild weekend in Sydney, Australia — where Sean Strickland upset Israel Adesanya for the Middleweight title (watch highlights) — Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns home to Las Vegas, Nevada, for a very special Fight Night: “Noche UFC.” In the main event, Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko run it back for the women’s Flyweight title from inside T-Moble Arena.

While Noche UFC has lost some very fun fights because of canceled matchups, the atmosphere should be incredibly fun, with several entertaining fights set to take place. So, before it all goes down tomorrow evening (Sat., Sept. 16, 2023), let’s check out some random storylines, tidbits and statistics ahead of showtime …

Photo by Manuel Velasquez/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Mexican Independence Day

Noche UFC takes place on Mexican Independence Day, a big deal in the combat sports world because the holiday is usually booked with boxing prize fights. Boxing superstars Canelo Alvarez, Floyd Mayweather and Oscar Del La Hoya owned that date, competing on it several times. In fact, Canelo wanted to fight Jermell Charlo this weekend; however, UFC claimed the date, which forced Alvarez to fight later this month.

Rematch

This is obvious, but Grasso and Shevchenko are rematching at Noche UFC. Grasso upset “Bullet” at UFC 295 earlier this year (watch highlights). Shevchenko was a -500 favorite when she fought Grasso, and the loss snapped her nine-fight win streak. It also marked Shevchenko’s first loss at Flyweight.

Headliners

Noche UFC will be Grasso’s second UFC main event. Her first headlining spot was UFC Vegas 62 against Viviane Araujo (it was also a last-minute main event as Strickland vs. Cannonier got canceled). As for Shevchenko, she is going into her fourth main event. The last time she headlined a card was UFC Uruguay — in a rematch opposite Liz Carmouche — back in 2019.

Focused Bullet

It is safe to say that Shevchenko is always pretty focused before her fights, but ahead of Noche UFC, she is laser-focused. In all of her media ahead of the fight, she is dead-set on her goals and uninterested in anything else. The former champion has her eyes set on reclaiming her title, and according to her, she has no choice other than to be aggressive against Grasso.

People’s Main Event

The co-main event is just plain awesome … and by far the best fight on the card as No. 13-ranked Welterweight, Kevin Holland, takes on No. 14-seeded Jack Della Maddalena. The two Welterweights are finishing machines, making the odds of this 170-pound showdown very violent. Maddalena is coming off a close split decision to UFC newcomer, Bassil Hafez, at UFC Vegas 77, but other than that, he has knocked out everyone in front of him. Holland got into the Top 15 rankings in his last outing, finishing Michael Chiesa at UFC 291 this past July (watch highlights).

VIVA LA MEXICO

With Noche UFC taking place on Mexican Independence Day, one would assume the fight card would be full of Mexican talennt. And that assumption is correct: eight Mexican fighters are competing tomorrow, including Grasso, Raul Rosas Jr., Daniel Zellehuber, Fernando Padilla, Loopy Godinez, Edgar Chairez, Tracy Cortez and Alex Reyes.

Comeback For “El Nino”

Rosas Jr., 18, returns for the first time since his shocking upset loss to Christian Rodriguez at UFC 287 earlier this year. The five-month break is the longest layoff of the young fighter’s mixed martial arts (MMA) career since he turned professional in late 2021.

With the disappointing loss in his rear-view mirror, Rosas Jr. will face Terrence Mitchell (7-1) this Saturday.

Welcome Back, Alex Reyes

By the time Alex Reyes steps back into the Octagon this weekend, it will be six years (or 71 months) since he has last competed. Weirdly enough, he will be fighting 71 months to the day of his last fight, which was Sept. 16, 2017.

Several injuries and setbacks have kept the older brother of Dominick Reyes out of action. In fact, one of his injuries was a spinal infection that doctors feared might paralyze him. Reyes was scheduled to make his long-awaited return against Trevor Peek earlier this year, but he withdrew. He now faces Charlie Campbell.

Two Canadians, One Brazilian And One Australian Walk Into A Cage …

With Noche UFC filled with Mexican fighters throughout the card, some random foreign fighters are on the card to fight them.

Kyle Nelson and Jasmine Jasudavicius are repping “The Great White North” (Canada). Daniel Lacerda is the lone Brazilian on the card, while Maddalena has Australia on his back after missing out “Down Under” last weekend.

There is also a Swede and Russian on the card, too.

Matchup Collapse

Two original matchups for Noche UFC went through some ridiculous changes. Let’s explain …

One of the main card fights this Saturday was supposed to be Chris Curtis vs. Anthony Hernandez; however, after both fighters pulled out with injuries, Roman Kopylov and Josh Frend stepped up.

On the “Prelims” undecard, Elise Reed was scheduled to welcome Cynthia Calvillo back to the strawweight division; however, the matchup literally imploded. Calvillo pulled out, and then Iasmin Lucindo stepped up. A few weeks before the event, the UFC rebooked the strawweight fighters, with Lucindo now fighting Josefine Knutsson and Reed fighting Loopy Godinez. Finally, Luicindo pulled up, and Marnic Mann stepped up.

Got all that?

Welcome To UFC!

Three fighters make their Octagon debuts this weekend.

• Charlie Campbell (7-2) faces Alex Reyes this weekend and has a 71 percent finish rate.
• Josefine Lindgren Knutsson (6-0) takes on fellow rookie, Marnic Mann (6-1), to kick off the card.

Winners And Losers

Sixteen fighters are coming off wins, while six fighters are coming off losses.

Multi-Divisions

Here are the divisions that will be on display this Saturday:

• One Middleweight fight
• One Welterweight fight
• Two Lightweight fights
• One Featherweight fight
• One Bantamweight fight
• Two women’s Flyweight fights
• Two women’s Strawweight fights

Beta Dog

According to DraftKings, the “biggest” underdog at UFC Paris is Mitchell at +575.

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MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire Noche UFC fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 7 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 10 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest Noche UFC news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2” fight card and ESPN+ line up click here.