Latest news with #NocheUFC
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
UFC Makes Announcement About Noche UFC 3 Card
UFC Makes Announcement About Noche UFC 3 Card originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The UFC is changing course on one of its most symbolic events of the year. Known for celebrating Mexican fighters and culture around Mexican Independence Day, the annual Noche UFC card has become a staple of the promotion's calendar. Last year's spectacle took place inside the Las Vegas Sphere and featured a shocking outcome, as Sean O'Malley lost his bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili in dramatic fashion during the main event. Now, the promotion is setting its sights elsewhere for 2025. Advertisement In an official announcement made during the UFC Vegas 107 broadcast and later confirmed via a post on X (formerly Twitter), the UFC revealed: 'The 3rd annual #NocheUFC will now take place at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas on September 13. The Noche UFC Fight Night card will celebrate and honor the remarkable contributions of Mexican fighters to combat sports and continues UFC's great tradition of holding an event around Mexican Independence Day.' Initially, there had been strong speculation that the UFC would take the event abroad, with plans seemingly set for Arena Guadalajara in Mexico. However, delays related to construction at the venue may have forced the promotion to reconsider. The first two Noche UFC events were held in Las Vegas, making this upcoming San Antonio card the first to take place outside of Nevada. UFC CEO Dana WhitePhoto by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC While no fights have been confirmed for the event, the UFC's commitment to honoring Mexican heritage remains unchanged—and fans will be watching closely to see who lands on this meaningful card. UFC President Dana White has yet to announce any matchups for the event, but his involvement will likely shape the final lineup. With the event just months away, anticipation continues to build as fans await further updates on what's next for Noche UFC 3. Advertisement Related: UFC Heavyweight KO Artist Sends Explicit Message to the Division After Begging for a Fight Related: Legal Storm Intensifies Around BJ Penn, New Developments Emerge: Report This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
'Noche UFC' Mexico drought continues with shift from Guadalajara to San Antonio, Texas
'Noche UFC' Mexico drought continues with shift from Guadalajara to San Antonio, Texas Just when it looked like a "Noche UFC" event actually would take place in Mexico, those plans have been put on hold. In March, the promotion announced the third annual event that helps celebrate Mexican Independence Day would take place Sept. 13 at Arena Guadalajara in Guadalajara, Mexico, at UFC 320. But Saturday, a change in plans was announced. The UFC announced Saturday that construction delays at the arena have forced a move to Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on the same date. This will be the UFC's fourth trip to San Antonio. Most recently, UFC on ESPN 43 took place there in 2023. Previous events took place in 2019 and 2014, but "Noche UFC" will be the city's first UFC pay-per-view. UFC 320 marks the third annual Noche UFC event. The previous two took place in Las Vegas. UFC Fight Night 227 was the inaugural Noche event in 2023. It took place at T-Mobile Arena and was headlined by Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2. In 2024, the promotion took Noche UFC to another level. In what remains the only combat sports event held at Sphere in Las Vegas, the promotion put together UFC 306, an all-time spectacle that was headlined by Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili.
USA Today
25-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Merab Dvalishvili eyes two more title defenses in 2025 should he win at UFC 316
Merab Dvalishvili eyes two more title defenses in 2025 should he win at UFC 316 Merab Dvalishvili wants to be a busy man this 2025. Merab Dvalishvili's nickname is "The Machine" for a reason. Yes, he has an endless gas tank when it comes to fighting, but he's also willing and game to fight often. Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC), who's scheduled to defend his UFC bantamweight title in a rematch against Sean O'Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) at UFC 316 on June 7, wants to log two more title defenses in 2025, should he get his hand raised next month. That's right, Dvalishvili is hoping to have a total of four UFC title defenses, a very rare number of championship fights in a single year, as he defended his belt in January against Umar Nurmagomedov. "God willing, this will happen," Dvalishvili told ESPN. "I'm working hard for win and to defend my belt again. I don't look at this as an easy fight, it's going to be a challenge, but I want to be busy. I'm only going to take one month off, and I'll be back to training camp. I want to be busy. I heard they're going to have a fight in Guadalajara, Mexico, and I'd like to fight there and then fight in New York (in November) or in December. Let's see. This one and two more this year. Let's see." The UFC is scheduled to host Noche UFC on Sept. 13 in Guadalajara, Mexico. They're also expected two hold their two annual pay-per-view events in New York in November, and in Las Vegas in December. Those are cards Dvalishvili is interested in. As far as the rematch against O'Malley, Dvalishvili is more focused on logging his second title defense, than the magnitude of the fight, given O'Malley's starpower. "I'm sure it's going to be a big fight, we know he is the most popular in our weight class now," Dvalishvili said. "But to be honest, for me, it's about legacy and every fight is important. I'm excited for this rematch just for fighting, and I'm going to try to finish, I want to try striking, I want to try different things. I know Sean will change his plan. He's also saying he's going to be 70 percent better version, and I want to see this and test this. I'm more excited with this. Of course, thank God the UFC is a big organization and every time we fight, we make good money. I'm good with money. I'm more excited to fight." Dvalishvili dominated O'Malley the first time the two fought back in September. Dvalishvili admits it's tough to get up for a rematch, given how successful he was in the first fight, but he knows that's not the mentality he needs to have entering UFC 316. "It's hard to motivate myself," Dvalishvili said. "I'm fighting the same guy. But I know this guy will be more dangerous. The first fight, I was game. I had a game plan and I knew it was going to work against him. He had a game plan, and I stopped his game plan. Now I know what gamelan he's going to have, well, I'm guessing he's going to attack from the beginning with either striking or kicks. He was waiting for me, and I was just keeping distance and every time he closed distance, I was taking him down. This time, it's going to be a different game. Every fight is a new experience and I try to learn from everything."
USA Today
23-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Lerone Murphy against Yair Rodriguez's potential UFC title shot: 'That would be terrible'
Lerone Murphy against Yair Rodriguez's potential UFC title shot: 'That would be terrible' Top contender Lerone Murphy can't stomach the idea of Yair Rodriguez being next up for the UFC featherweight championship. Murphy, an undefeated title contender at 145 pounds, thinks it would be a bad call to put Rodriguez in a rematch with champion Alexander Volkanovski, who's in need of a challenger. Aside from Rodriguez campaigning for the title shot, some have made the argument that he could indeed be next, given this year's Noche UFC event is scheduled to go down in Guadalajara, Mexico. "El Pantera," being a star and a pioneer for Mexican MMA, could be a solid candidate to headline the event on Sept. 13. Murphy sees Rodriguez as undeserving of the opportunity and wouldn't like to see that happening. "That would be terrible for the division, for the sport, because realistically – not to say Yair is not a good fighter – but he's lost about three or four title shots," Murphy told Submission Radio. "He's only had one win in three fights, and it was against a guy that's unranked. "It wouldn't make sense. Personally, me being in the division, I would want a shot, but I know I probably need one more, as well, but I wouldn't be against Mosvar getting the shot. I believe out of everybody, if someone is going to get a shot, it would be Movsar (Evloev) or myself. We're the both undefeated fighters, fresh fighters, never challenged for the title, and never fought Volkanovksi. You can't put Yair back in there." Rodriguez has had one crack at the UFC featherweight belt. That opportunity came in 2023 when he collided with Volkanovski in a title-unification bout, as Rodriguez held the interim belt. He lost the fight by third-round TKO. Since then, he was submitted by Brian Ortega in 2024 and last month bounced back with a unanimous decision win over former Bellator champion Patricio Freire. Meanwhile, both Movsar Evloev and Murphy remain undefeated. Evloev is coming off a decision win over Aljamain Sterling, and Murphy a decision win over Josh Emmett. Murphy doesn't think much has changed since Rodriguez and Volkanovski fought in 2023. He expects a similar outcome should the two get matched up again, reinforcing his stance on the title picture. "It wasn't close. It wasn't close," Murphy said regarding the potential rematch. "Who wants to see that fight again? What's really going to change? Nothing is going to change in that fight."
USA Today
21-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Sean O'Malley's coach says Sphere lighting impacted Noche UFC loss to Merab Dvalishvili
Sean O'Malley's coach says Sphere lighting impacted Noche UFC loss to Merab Dvalishvili Sean O'Malley's coach points to several factors that led to his title loss at UFC 306. O'Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) lost his bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) last September at Noche UFC, which took place at Sphere in Las Vegas. O'Malley revealed that he went into the fight with a torn labrum in his hip, which he underwent surgery for after the fight. O'Malley will get an opportunity to avenge that loss when the pair run things back in the UFC 316 headliner June 7 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. His head coach, Tim Welch, explained what he thinks went wrong in the first fight and how the Sphere production played a part. "I rewatched the fight in slow-mo so many times," Welch told ESPN. "There were tons and tons of shots that barely missed by inches that would have completely changed the fight, and I think a lot of it had to do with the Sphere and the lighting. And then not only the injury, I just feel like in our lives that was supposed to happen. It really, really caused us to truly level up as humans. And looking back, it was really good for us." Since their first fight, Dvalishvili went on to defend his title against formerly unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 this past January. Welch doesn't see Dvalishvili straying away from his usual game plan. "I'm expecting the same Merab: a guy who's an expert at winning 25 minutes, getting into positions where he's doing just enough damage to not get stood up and where it looks like he's winning to the judges," Welch said. "Pinning people on the fence, pinning people in half guard, pinning people on their guard. "He's just an expert at winning 25 minutes. I don't think there's been a fight that Sean has been so healthy after. Like after the fight, there wasn't a bruise on his body. I think he had a little bruise on his leg, but he felt completely fine. So, he's just an expert at making you tired and getting positions where he can just cook the clock."
