Jean Silva survived an early knockdown to submit late-replacement Jose Delgado with a rear-naked choke at 2:57 of round three, headlining UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Delgado at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The card lost its original main event in mid-August when former interim champion Yair Rodriguez withdrew with a groin injury, elevating Delgado on short notice. Elsewhere on the 13-fight card, two-time former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno snapped a two-fight skid with a split decision, and Alexa Grasso beat Manon Fiorot by unanimous decision in an officially designated flyweight title eliminator.
The main event: Silva survives, then finishes
Silva took the harder path to the finish. Delgado, stepping in on a compressed camp for the biggest fight of his career, rocked Silva and won the early exchanges of round one. Silva kept pressing forward regardless, and in round three he dropped Delgado with a right hook, followed him to the mat, and forced the tap with a rear-naked choke — a chokehold applied from behind the neck — at 2:57. It's Silva's second straight win since a knockout loss to Diego Lopes at last year's Noche UFC, and a statement finish given the short-notice opponent and the stage. Silva is ranked sixth in the UFC's featherweight rankings; Rodriguez, the man he was originally booked against, is ranked fifth.
The co-main: Moreno ends his skid
Moreno needed a strong finish to get past Joseph Morales, a Ultimate Fighter tournament winner who had submitted both of his prior UFC-era opponents. Moreno opened with sharp boxing combinations, absorbed a strong second round from Morales, and closed the fight with a third-round takedown that produced nearly two minutes of top control. Two judges scored it 30-27 for Moreno; the third saw it 28-29 for Morales. It's the first win in three fights for Moreno, who is ranked eighth at flyweight after being finished by Tatsuro Taira and outpointed by Lone'er Kavanagh in his two prior outings.
Grasso outpoints Fiorot in a title eliminator
Grasso returned to the arena where she lost her flyweight title to Valentina Shevchenko two years ago and left with a unanimous decision over the division's number-two-ranked contender. Grasso hurt Fiorot with a right hook late in round one and followed her to the canvas with punches, then continued out-working her over the final two rounds. All three judges had it 29-28 for Grasso, who is ranked third in the division. The win sends her into a fight against the winner of the division's next title bout; Fiorot, previously unbeaten in the division outside a loss to Shevchenko, had entered on a finish of Jasmine Jasudavicius.
McMillen stays unbeaten in an early Fight of the Year contender
Tommy McMillen improved to 12-0, but not before Marwan Rahiki nearly ended his unbeaten run. Rahiki, also undefeated and previously perfect in finishing every professional opponent, hurt McMillen badly in round two. McMillen rallied to take over round three and closed out a unanimous decision, 29-28 on all three cards, in a fight multiple outlets called an early Fight of the Year contender.
The rest of the main card
Curtis Blaydes out-pointed Waldo Cortes-Acosta in a cautious heavyweight decision, winning 29-28 across the board in a fight where neither man reached triple-digit strikes thrown. Blaydes is ranked seventh in the heavyweight division and Cortes-Acosta sixth; the loss snaps Cortes-Acosta's momentum after back-to-back knockout wins.
David Martinez extended his winning streak to 11 fights, sweeping the cards against Dan Ige in Ige's bantamweight debut. Martinez chopped away at Ige's lead leg, added a second-round takedown, and dropped Ige when Ige went hunting for a finish of his own in round three. Martinez is ranked eighth at bantamweight; Ige, a longtime featherweight who dropped four of his last five fights before making the move down in weight, remains unranked.
Prelims
The seven preliminary bouts produced four finishes.
| Fight | Winner | Method | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elliott vs. Chairez | Tim Elliott | Decision (unanimous) | 3 |
| Bahamondes vs. Salikhov | Ignacio Bahamondes | Decision (unanimous) | 3 |
| Belgaroui vs. Santos | Yousri Belgaroui | TKO (punches) | 1, 4:25 |
| Klose vs. Gantt | Tommy Gantt | Submission (triangle choke) | 3, 2:46 |
| Garcia vs. Rongzhu | Rongzhu | Decision (unanimous) | 3 |
| Rosas vs. King | Sean King | KO (slam) | 1, 0:36 |
| Aldrich vs. Tarin | Regina Tarin | Decision (unanimous) | 3 |
Sean King had the fastest and most violent finish of the night, dropping fellow debutant Jessie Rosas with a slam just 36 seconds into their fight; replay showed Rosas was likely already unconscious before he hit the canvas. Tommy Gantt, in just his second UFC appearance, submitted nearly-decade-long veteran Drakkar Klose with a third-round triangle choke — a significant step-up win for an undefeated prospect. Undefeated 21-year-old Regina Tarin shut down veteran JJ Aldrich's wrestling to stay perfect at 9-0, and Rongzhu turned back Rafa Garcia's early pressure in a competitive lightweight fight to extend his own unbeaten UFC run.
What it means
Silva's finish keeps him unbeaten since his loss to Diego Lopes and reinforces his standing in a crowded featherweight top ten, while Delgado leaves with his stock raised despite the loss — he took a short-notice main event against a ranked opponent and had moments of success in it. Grasso's win over the division's number-two contender puts her back in the title conversation after the setback that defined her last visit to this building, and Moreno's split-decision win, his first in three fights, buys him more time in a flyweight division he once ruled twice over. Full records, stats and the pre-fight breakdowns for every matchup are on the event page.