UFC Noche Main Event Announced: Lopes Returns Against Jean Silva
UFC Noche Main Event Announced: Lopes Returns Against Jean Silva originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
UFC Noche has quickly cemented itself as one of the most celebrated fight nights on the calendar. Held each year in honor of Mexican Independence Day, the 2025 edition is locked in for September 13 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. And this year, the main event delivers a banger—featuring a fan-favorite contender stepping back into the fire after being medically sidelined.
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Diego Lopes, the 30-year-old Brazilian known for his wild hair and even wilder fighting style, is back. He went the distance with Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314 in a gritty, five-round war that showcased his heart, chin, and championship mettle—even in defeat.
UFC CEO Dana WhitePhoto by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
That loss earned him respect, but also an indefinite medical suspension from the Florida State Athletic Commission due to the punishment he absorbed. Now medically cleared, Lopes is ready to remind everyone why he's must-watch TV.
Diego LopesImagn
Opposite him stands Jean Silva, a 28-year-old unbeaten Brazilian savage who's been quietly building a storm. After choking out Bryce Mitchell in the second round of their UFC 314 bout, Silva extended his UFC win streak to six and made it clear he's not here to wait in line. This isn't just a fight—it's a collision between a streaking finisher and a battle-tested technician with main event experience.
Jean SilvaGetty Images
UFC President Dana White isn't pulling punches. With UFC Noche and Canelo vs. Crawford both landing on Mexican Independence Day weekend, the combat sports world is in for a double-dose of chaos. White has assured fans both mega events will complement rather than compete, setting the stage for a historic night of fireworks in and out of the cage.
Lopes is back. Silva's coming in hot. And with legacy, bragging rights, and highlight reels on the line—UFC Noche might just steal the show.
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Related: UFC Veteran Retires After Winning 2 of the Last 3 Fights
Related: 'Everybody Would Hate Me' – UFC Fan Favorite Eyes WWE Run Amid Talks with Triple H
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
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Cooper Flagg NBA Draft sweepstakes result a ‘fantastic feeling' for Rolando Blackman
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Raising Arch: How Cooper and Ellen prepared Texas' QB for the Manning family spotlight
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Peyton, a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer, won five NFL MVPs and two Super Bowls. People assume that the two former NFL stars have mentored their nephew, but that wasn't so much the case. Archie's been around a lot and always has been, said Arch's mother, Ellen, 'but really, Coop taught Arch how to play football.' Ellen and Cooper realize that doesn't make for a good story. Or draw as many eyeballs. 'As much as they are great influences, they weren't around a ton,' Cooper said. 'I don't think Eli ever saw Arch play a high school or college football game. He is coming in this year. Peyton would come in for a game or two occasionally. Arch would see them at the Manning Passing Academy and may see 'em at Mardi Gras, but that's like five nights in a year, so it's hard to say whether he's 'like them or like someone else.' 'I do think you can pick up little pieces of people that you like. Arch is probably just as likely to pick up a habit of Patrick Mahomes as he is of Eli with things that you just like about people and the way they handle themselves. And fortunately, anybody who watches anything can get more exposure to players they like and want to mimic.' Arch is actually much faster than either of his famous uncles. Cooper said Arch gets his speed from his mom. Ellen was the track star in the family, an all-district selection as a high-jumper in New Orleans who led her high school to its first state title in volleyball and was inducted into its sports hall of fame. Advertisement Ask Cooper about how he and Ellen raised their children knowing the challenges that would come with the hype associated with being Mannings, and he can't help but laugh, knowing that he and his brothers didn't grow up in an era of social media and cellphones with cameras. They decided they'd deflect all the early attention on Arch as best as they could. It helped that New Orleans offered a more laidback, easygoing vibe than most places. It also helped that Arch, from a young age, never wanted any of it. But that didn't stop college coaches from calling as early as sixth grade trying to talk about scholarships. 'I was like, 'We're not having any of this scholarship stuff,'' Cooper said. ''This is ridiculous. He doesn't even have braces yet.'' Cooper and Ellen, who is an attorney, set up ground rules raising their three children, May, Arch and Heid. When it came to cellphones and curfews, the Manning kids had a lot less flexibility than most of their friends did. They didn't get cellphones until middle school. Even then, cellphones couldn't be used at dinner. And until they were in the 11th grade, they had to charge their phones at night in their parents' bedroom. 'Did they bitch and complain about it? Sure, they did,' Ellen said. 'But I mention that to other people and they say, 'Oh, I can't get my kid's face out of the screen,' and my response is, 'Well, take it away from 'em! It's like they're scared to do that. 'We never were scared to enforce the rules that we put in place for them because we believed in them.' They had seen how social media had come into vogue and didn't love where some of that could be headed. Though their kids complained about restrictions, Ellen said, they've come to look back and appreciate it. 'It was all a distraction,' Cooper said. 'I just saw too many people taking their kids to dinner and everybody else was talking and the kids are on their phones. I thought, we're not having this junk. I was a little old-school, kind of copying my dad. We're not playing video games. Get outside and go play. I don't care, you're not hanging around here just swiping and thumbing through some useless, endless stuff. Advertisement 'Arch was kind of wired that way anyhow so it made it easier.' Cooper remembers Arch protesting that he couldn't stay out until 11 o'clock in high school, saying friends' parents let their sons come home later. But then he'd say: 'I didn't really wanna go out anyway. I was just testing y'all.' The irony is that now that all three kids have gone off to college — Heid is at Texas with Arch and May graduated this spring from Virginia — when they come home to New Orleans, they'll spot their old man thumbing away on his phone. Dad! Enough with the phone! 'I'll lie and say I'm doing something work-related,' Cooper said, 'but now it's reversed, and they make me put it away for hours, so that's good.' When Arch's recruitment began in earnest while at Isidore Newman School, Ellen and Cooper were thorough in how he chose where he went to college. They took visits to Clemson, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss and LSU. They ended up going to Alabama, Texas and Georgia four times each before Arch chose to play for Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns ahead of his senior season. 'When you're 16, you don't know what college is like, much less what the locker room is like, what the coaches are like, what the meetings are like, what practices are like, what it's like to be going to classes in the summer — all that stuff,' Cooper said. 'The more you get exposed to, the more you can make a relatively educated decision on where you can see yourself going, and if things may go wrong, you're not gonna get homesick and think, 'Golly, I screwed up.' 'We're just the concierge, you get to figure out what feels right to you.' After making brief appearances as a freshman in 2023, Arch played in 10 games last season, starting two when Ewers was injured. The younger Manning was impressive in limited time, getting into 10 games. He completed 68 percent of his passes, going 61-for-90 for 939 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. More impressively, he completed over 78 percent on third downs and 85 percent in the red zone. He also ran for 108 yards and four touchdowns for a Texas team that made it to the College Football Playoff semifinals for the second consecutive season. Advertisement The Mannings are well aware that Arch is a hot-button subject — and has been since he got to Texas (and even before that). They appreciate how UT has handled him. He's been there for two and a half years and been available for interviews just five times: once during Sugar Bowl media day in his freshman year, another time for Cotton Bowl media last year, once this spring and twice after his two starts last fall. Cooper set his phone up to get Google Alerts daily for articles mentioning Arch, but for as many as there are, he's realized there's rarely anything to them. 'There's not really anything new because he's not saying anything, and no one is really saying anything with new information,' he said. 'It's just recycled stuff. He's kept his head down and kept a low-profile, so when he does something, it kinda matters. 'I think they've done a great job of protecting him, developing him, and letting him be a regular kid as best you can. Now, when the time is right, you're ready to go, you're ready to go. Playing is good, but playing when you're really ready and prepared usually works out better, in every league.' Cooper is also proud to say that Arch was never on social media growing up. His first tweet didn't come until June 23, 2022, when he announced his commitment to Texas. It has been retweeted over 35,000 times and liked over 200,000 times. He's tweeted only four times in the three years since. He's slightly more active on Instagram, where he has posted 16 times. He doesn't read a lot of the stuff on social media, either, Cooper said, adding that they 'don't ever discuss' the things being talked about or written about him. Committed to the University of Texas. #HookEm — Arch Manning (@ArchManning) June 23, 2022 It's all part of the careful curation of a quarterback, and of a young man, at a time when not everything can be controlled. Arch, who is majoring in communication and leadership, can't help but encounter some unique challenges no one else in his family faced. Like, how do you handle when you're walking to class and realize you're being filmed? Or every time when you go out to eat? Advertisement 'He struggles with that right now,' Ellen said. 'Especially when he's in Austin, he feels like he can't go out because everybody wants to take a picture. He said it's not even the ones that are coming up and saying, 'Hey, can I get a picture?' He's always been very gracious about that. He learned that from his grandfather. You always take the time to take a picture, talk to a fan. 'But it's the people who are filming him from across the quad when he walks to class. That's the most awkward thing for him. He calls me: 'Mom, will you just talk to me while I'm walking to class because this is so awkward. I don't know whether to wave and smile.'' Still, Cooper said the biggest area he thinks Arch has grown since going to Austin is his independence. As a kid, he struggled getting up early, whether for school or for an 8 a.m. baseball tournament an hour away. He quickly learned he needed to take initiative in Austin. 'When you don't have someone nagging you, who you know is gonna bail you out,' Cooper said, 'all of a sudden, you grow up.' Arch gushed to his father about Kelvin Banks, the All-American Texas left tackle, who he said might be the best teammate he'll ever have — and provided stiff competition to be the first one at 6 a.m. workouts. 'He said Kelvin's always the first one in,' Cooper recalled, 'so he said, 'I started trying to beat him in. I'd get there 10 minutes earlier than him, but Kelvin had gotten there 20 minutes earlier. It was like this unspoken rule —No, no, no, no one is gonna be in before me.' He just takes it seriously, which is good.' Banks is gone, taken with the No. 9 pick in the NFL Draft by the Saints in April. With Ewers gone, too, there's no doubt it's Arch's team now. He's come a long way from scrambling to get to those 8 a.m. youth baseball tournaments. Though he's set up to succeed, what happens next? Advertisement It's up to Arch Manning. 'That's what you do as a parent — you do your best, and then hope when you send them off to college, they've absorbed some of the things you instilled in them,' Cooper said, 'but you can't micromanage anything.' (Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; Kevin C. Cox / Getty, Icon Sportswire / Getty, Wesley Hitt / Getty)
