RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from CBS Sports — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 2 sources
Noche UFC finally has a main event. A big featherweight showdown between Yair Rodriguez and Jean Silva will headline the Sept. 12 event.
Rodriguez, the No. 5-ranked featherweight in the official UFC Rankings, is looking to keep his spot in the top five after a rocky few years. After defeating Josh Emmett to win the interim featherweight championship in 2023, Rodriguez challenged Alexander Volkanovski for the undisputed 145-pound title later in the year.
Rodriguez would lose to Volkanovski by third-round TKO and followed up that loss with a third-round submission loss to Brian Ortega in 2024. He finally got back in the win column in 2025 with a decision win over former Bellator star Patricio Pitbull .
Silva sits one spot behind Rodriguez in the rankings at No. 6. After winning his way into the UFC on Dana White's Contender Series, Silva rattled off five consecutive wins in the Octagon, including four by knockout before submitting Bryce Mitchell with an arm-triangle choke.
Silva suffered the first loss of his UFC career in 2025, when he was knocked out by a Diego Lopes spinning backfist in a UFC Fight Night main event.
Silva rebounded from the Lopes loss by taking a hard-fought decision win over Arnold Allen at UFC 324, the first UFC event of the "Paramount Era."
The rest of the fight card set for the event features some strong matchups, including Waldo-Cortes Acosta taking on Curtis Blaydes at heavyweight, and Manon Fiorot facing former women's flyweight champion Alexa Grasso.
The event will also take place on the same night as Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn in Las Vegas under the Zuffa Boxing banner.
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.