Noche UFC 3 staff picks including Jean Silva battling Diego Lopes in the Fight of the Night and more predictions

Diego Lopes vs Jean Silva predictions

The experts at Bloody Elbow are almost all in agreement, with three of the four surprisingly backing Silva to beat the #2-ranked Featherweight in the main event of Noche UFC 3.

Silva is looking like the next great Featherweight in the division, and Kyle, Jordan, and Ross are backing him to continue his impressive rise up the division by beating Lopes.

Lopes is such a fun fighter to watch, but the loss to Volkanovski was the seventh defeat of his career. For somebody wanting to be an elite fighter, that just seems like too many losses to be considered top of the pile.

Silva hasn’t lost since 2018 and has a history in the UFC of finishing off his opponents. Most of the staff see this bout going the same way as his others, with “Lord” dominating Silva and taking home a massive victory in Texas.

However, Jamie is still backing Lopes to bounce back from his latest defeat and prove why he is ranked so highly in the division.

The Brazilian will need to dig down deep to make up for his recent defeat, but he clearly has the ability and toughness to eke out a victory, even against a tough opponent like Silva.

Rob Font vs David Martinez predictions

There seems to be a clear winner in the co-main event, as all four experts have chosen Rob Font as the winner in his fight against David Martinez on September 13.

Font has been on a roll recently, winning two fights in a row since 2024 to climb to the #9 spot in the bantamweight division.

The 38-year-old is a veteran of the division, having won four Performance of the Night bonuses and boasting the second-most knockouts in the history of UFC Bantamweights.

While he hasn’t finished an opponent since 2023, this record could be on the experts’ minds as they choose Font to win this fight.

His opponent, David Martinez, is fighting for only the second time in the UFC, but he doesn’t seem like he has enough to beat Font in the octagon on Saturday.

Noche UFC 3 Fight of the Night

It’s a clean sweep for the main event as Kyle, Jordan, Ross, and Jamie are all backing Lopes and Silva to earn themselves a bonus for the Fight of the Night when they do battle in Texas.

All four predicted the all-Brazilian clash to impress the most, with the recent performances of Silva since debuting in the UFC heavily contributing to that.

“Lord” has never gone the distance in the UFC, finishing all of his fights via either submission or knockout in an incredible five-fight run so far.

Lopes is no slouch either. His wild, almost reckless, brawling style is incredibly entertaining to watch, even if it did cost him the UFC Featherweight belt in his last outing.

Noche UFC 3 Performance of the Night

After uniformity when picking the Fight of the Night, the experts were more varied in their choices for the fighter who will take home the $50,000 bonus for the Performance of the Night on Saturday.

Kyle is backing Daniil Donchenko to impress after earning his UFC contract on The Ultimate Fighter earlier this year. The Ukrainian is 11-2 in his career so far, and looks like an impressive addition to the Lightweight division.

Meanwhile, Jordan is excited to see Alexander Hernandez trying to extend his three-fight winning streak following a first-round knockout victory at UFC 319.

Now in his seventh year of his UFC run, Hernandez is in the best form of his life and will hope for another impressive performance to launch him up the rankings and hopefully towards a title shot one day.

Finally, both Ross and Jamie have one eye on the Women’s Strawweight division as two top-five contenders duke it out on the prelims.

They are backing the #2-ranked Tatiana Suarez to impress against her #4-ranked rival, Amanda Lemos, in what is one of the most competitive bouts on the card.

Suarez can leapfrog Virna Jandiroba in the rankings with a victory, as many expect she will manage, to hopefully earn a shot at Zhang Weili’s belt in the near future.