MIAMI, FLORIDA – APRIL 12: Diego Lopes of Brazil looks on prior to fighting Alexander Volkanovski of Australia in a featherweight title fight during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center on April 12, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
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The UFC presents the Noche UFC 2025 fight card on Saturday, September 13, from Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. In the main event, recent UFC featherweight title challenger Diego Lopes faces the surging Jean Silva, who is undefeated since joining the UFC in 2024. We look at the betting odds, line movement, picks and predictions for Lopes vs. Silva.
The Noche UFC main card streams on ESPN+ at 6:00 p.m. ET following prelims on the same streaming service at 3:00 p.m. ET. The card should not interfere with the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford boxing matchup scheduled for the same night in Las Vegas on Netflix.
Noche UFC Main Event: Diego Lopes Vs. Jean Silva
MIAMI, FLORIDA – APRIL 12: Diego Lopes of Brazil reacts after fighting Alexander Volkanovski of Australia in a featherweight title fight during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center on April 12, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
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Diego Lopes (26-7) is the No. 2 fighter in the official UFC featherweight rankings. Lopes joined the UFC in May 2023, dropping his promotional debut to Movsar Evloev via decision. Lopes followed that setback with five straight wins. A win over Brian Ortega at UFC 306 earned Lopes a shot at the vacant UFC featherweight title against former champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314 in April of this year.
Lopes dropped that fight by decision. After his loss, I wrote:
“In my preview of this fight, I said that this matchup was too fast, too soon for Diego Lopes, but that it would prove to be a good learning experience for him. The fight essentially played out in that manner.
“Lopes was a game fighter throughout the 25-minute affair, but he didn’t make adjustments. His game plan was to move forward, pressure Volkanovski and land with power. That’s not a bad game plan for 99 percent of the UFC featherweights, but Volkanovski is an outlier, and as such, Lopes was not fully prepared for the level of fighter he faced on Saturday night.
“With this fight behind him, I expect Lopes will be better in his next title fight, and there will be a next title fight for him.”
At Noche UFC we find out what Lopes learned from facing one of the best to ever compete at 145 pounds.
DENVER, COLORADO – JULY 13: Jean Silva of Brazil reacts after his TKO victory over Drew Dober in a lightweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Ball Arena on July 13, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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A member of The Fighting Nerds team out of Brazil, Jean Silva (16-2) joined the UFC in September 2023 when he scored a UFC contract thanks to a decision win over Kevin Vallejos on a Dana White’s Contender Series card. Silva extended his winning streak to eight straight with his win over Vallejos.
Vallejos, who signed with the UFC following a 2024 DWCS win, is the last fighter to go the distance with Silva. Since his DWCS win, Silva has picked up four knockout victories, one submission and three straight fight-night bonus awards.
Silva is coming off a dominant performance at UFC 314, submitting Bryce Mitchell in the second round.
After his win over Mitchell, UFC commentator Joe Rogan said Silva, “looks like a world champion.”
Silva enters Noche UFC as the No. 10 ranked featherweight.
Noche UFC Main Event: Diego Lopes Vs. Jean Silva Betting Odds And Line Movement
When the betting odds opened for the Noche UFC main event, BetOnline had Silva as the -250 betting favorite over the +210 Lopes. Those odds have only shifted a little. Today, Silva is -240, while Lopes comes in as the +205 betting underdog.
Noche UFC Main Event Tale Of The Tape: Diego Lopes Vs. Jean Silva
Diego Lopes
Age: 30
Height: 5’11”
Reach: 72”
Stance: Orthodox
Jean Silva
Age: 28
Height: 5’7”
Reach: 69”
Stance: Orthodox
Noche UFC Main Event Predictions And Picks: Diego Lopes Vs. Jean Silva
MIAMI, FLORIDA – APRIL 12: Jean Silva of Brazil reacts after defeating Bryce Mitchell of the United States in a featherweight fight during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center on April 12, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
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The Fighting Nerds have struggled as of late. Caio Borralho, Mauricio Ruffy and Carlos Prates have also suffered recent losses. That leaves Jean Silva as the fight teams last hope to make a title run in 2025 or early 2026. In order for Silva to realize that dream, he has to beat recent UFC featherweight title challenger Diego Lopes.
Lopes has good technical striking skills, at least early in his fights, and excellent grappling. What he lacks are takedowns and takedown defense and the ability to stick to a game plan regarding his striking.
Silva is a very powerful striker, who is creative on the feet, and he can sometimes be a little loose when it comes to that striking. His power and willingness to take chances will allow him to draw Lopes into a fire fight, which is where Silva excels thanks to his ability to knock out his foes, which he has done in four of his five UFC fights.
Lopes is a very tough fighter, but his inability to stay technical will hurt him against the powerful Silva. The betting pick is that Silva will win this fight via knockout to keep the Fighting Nerds championship hopes alive.
We will have more on the Noche UFC fight card as fight night nears, including live results, reactions, highlights and more on fight night.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/trentreinsmith/2025/09/11/noche-ufc-main-event-odds-picks-predictions-lopes-vssilva/
