Three minutes without throwing a punch
Jean Silva did not land a strike in the opening three minutes of his own main event. Jose Miguel Delgado landed plenty, and the crowd at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona spent the first round watching a late replacement rough up the favourite.
Then Silva started walking forward and never stopped. Rounds two and three belonged to the Brazilian. At 2:57 of the third he slid in a one-arm rear-naked choke that ended the fight and the noise in the building at the same time.
Delgado falls to 12-3. Silva moves to 18-3 and gets to keep talking.
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A message aimed past the champion
Silva was supposed to face Yair Rodriguez on Saturday night. The former interim champion withdrew with an injury he disclosed on Instagram on Aug. 20, and Delgado took the booking on short notice. This was the second time Noche UFC handed Silva a headline slot, and he used the microphone accordingly.
“This message is not for the division,” he said through a translator. “It’s not for anybody out there. This message is for the next champion. Whoever holds that belt, the next champion is right here.”
He refused to pick a winner for UFC 333 on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi, where Alexander Volkanovski defends the featherweight title against Movsar Evloev. Whoever comes out of that one, Silva wants the next crack at it.
Moreno and Grasso keep their places in line
Brandon Moreno edged Joseph Morales by split decision in the co-main event, 30-27 on two cards, with Andrew Topps scoring it 29-28 the other way. The two-time flyweight champion asked for a quick turnaround at UFC 335 in Las Vegas on Dec. 12. Morales drops to 2-1 in his current UFC run.
Alexa Grasso beat Manon Fiorot by unanimous decision in a women’s flyweight title eliminator, 29-28 on all three cards. The judges preferred Grasso’s boxing to the damage Fiorot inflicted late, including a cut over the Mexican’s eye. Valentina Shevchenko vacated the belt earlier this month and may miss a full year with shoulder and back injuries, so Natalia Silva and Wang Cong meet at UFC 332 on Oct. 3 to crown a new champion. Grasso is now first in the queue behind that winner.
Curtis Blaydes ground out four takedowns and a unanimous decision over Waldo Cortes Acosta, who lost back-to-back fights for the first time in his career. Tommy McMillen stayed unbeaten at 12-0 by outworking Marwan Rahiki after a week that included a shoving incident at the fighter hotel. David Martinez opened the main card with his 15th win in 16 outings, a decision over Dan Ige.
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