Noche UFC Live Winners and Losers, Results
In the world of combat sports, all eyes are on Saturday night's Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford boxing super fight. That being said, MMA fans received a delightful appetizer for the boxing card in the form of Noche UFC, the promotion's annual celebration of Mexican Independence Day.
The card went down in San Antonio on Saturday, and culminated with a featherweight clash between top-10 contenders Jean Silva and Diego Lopes—two of the most exciting fighters in the weight class. In the end, despite a strong start from Silva, Lopes won the fight by TKO, cementing himself as one of the best fighters in the world right now.
Lopes wasn't the only big winner of the night. In the co-main event, the unheralded David Martinez defeated the No. 9-ranked Rob Font in his UFC debut, instantly asserting himself as a fight to watch in the bantamweight division.
All in all, it was an incredible night of fights and a perfect appetizer for the boxing action on Netflix. Scroll on for the complete results of the card and the real winners and losers of the night.
Loser: the Best Laid Plans
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At the highest level of MMA, athletes spend weeks preparing for their fights, readying themselves for almost anything they might encounter in the cage. One of the few things that they don't train for is fouls. Nobody in any MMA gym anywhere is running drills to prepare for an eye poke or a low blow, which means that when it actually happens in competition, it's usually a totally unfamiliar experience.
Sedriques Dumas learned that the hard way in his Noche UFC undercard clash with Zach Reese. Less than a minute into the first round, Dumas absorbed a bad shot to the groin and immediately crumpled to the mat in agony. He was quickly attended to by Octagon-side doctors, but within seconds, it was clear the damage was serious.
"When you're in practice, you don't practice this," said UFC commentator Dominick Cruz, a decorated former champion.
When it became clear Dumas would not be able to continue fighting—there was some concern he'd even be able to leave the Octagon on his own—the fight was waved off, and ruled a No Contest. It was not the result either fighter wanted—both probably would have accepted a loss over an outcome so indecisive—but it was a reminder that the old adage that "anything can happen in MMA" is irrefutable. You can train takedown defense, counter-striking, clinching, et cetera for weeks on end, only to have the whole game plan fall apart thanks to one poorly-placed kick.
To quote the poet Robert Frost, "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."
Winner: Getting Back on Track
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When Tatiana Suarez stepped into the cage with dominant UFC strawweight champ Zhang Weili in February, many expected her to leave it with the belt. In the end, however, that's not how it went. After nine-straight wins to start her career—including a finish of former champ Jessica Andrade—she suffered a lopsided decision loss to Zhang, which also happened to be the first setback of her pro career.
Suarez, who has been plagued by inactivity in the past, got back to action in relatively short order, taking on another former Zhang victim in Amanda Lemos at Noche UFC.
Suarez clearly won the first two rounds of their fight. Granted, she was dominated in the third and final round—so much so that she would have lost a decision in a league like ONE Championship, which scores fights as a whole, rather than round by round. Yet under the UFC's rules, she won a clear 2-1 decision and is now back in the win column as a consequence.
Ordinarily, Suarez would have to move mountains to earn another fight with Zhang—her loss to the Chinese star was that decisive. However, now that Zhang has vacated the strawweight belt to move up to flyweight and fight Valentina Shevchenko, all bets are off. In fact, Suarez could even be the next challenger in line for the winner of Mackenzie Dern and Virna Jandiroba's upcoming fight for the vacant title.
Winner: Making a Splash
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21-year-old bantamweight Santiago Luna was never supposed to be a part of Saturday's Noche UFC festivities, but fate works in mysterious ways.
Noche UFC was originally set to be co-headlined by a bantamweight fight between the veteran Rob Font and rising contender Raul Rosas Jr. When Rosas was forced off the card, however, Font accepted a fight with David Martinez, who had in turn been set to fight China's Quang Le on the undercard. With Martinez reallocated, Le needed a new opponent, which is when the UFC called upon Luna.
Luna nearly lost his short-notice UFC debut. He was hurt badly in the opening moments of round one, but ultimately rose to the occasion and stopped his opponent with a blistering right hand inside the first round.
"I know the level of fighters and coaches I have around me, so I had no doubt," he said in his post-fight interview. "That's what Mexicans do. War."
After his stunning, short-notice, come-from-behind victory, Luna can count on a big opportunity in his next UFC fight.
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Loser: False Victories
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When Kelvin Gastelum won the Ultimate Fighter with a split decision win over Uriah Hall back in 2012, I really thought he was a future champion. He reminded me of a prime Cain Velasquez, who I still consider the greatest heavyweight of all time. He could wrestle, he could punch, he had cardio—he seemed to have it all.
Gastelum has turned out to be MMA's most reliable disappointment. In the decade since he won TUF, he has amounted to nothing. Yes, he had a great interim middleweight title fight with Israel Adesanya, but he has done literally nothing memorable outside of that. Additionally, he has lost weight to a degree that is difficult to quantify.
Despite all that, he still has a job with the UFC and was invited back to fight Dustin Stoltzfus at Noche UFC. He won the fight by decision, but after missing the weight by a considerable margin, his victory holds little significance. It's so obvious he doesn't take this sport seriously. At this point, he's a waste of a UFC roster spot and should be cut. If he is, he'll surely be welcomed to the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship roster, where he'll inevitably miss weight again for fights with Mike Perry and Yoel Romero.
Winner: Shaking Things Up
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David Martinez made his UFC debut with a quick, first-round stoppage of Saimon Oliveira earlier this year. It's doubtful he had any idea the opportunities that victory would present.
Martinez was originally set to fight Quang Le on Saturday's Noche UFC card. However, when No. 9 bantamweight contender Rob Font was left without an opponent in the co-main event, Martinez stepped up. In just his second UFC bout, he was fighting one of the 10 best bantamweights on earth. Think about that. He shouldn't have won, but he did.
In fact, Martinez won decisively, and in doing so, can count on a spot in the UFC bantamweight top-15 come Tuesday. Unfortunately for him, bantamweight is one of the UFC's best divisions, so even after a win over Font, he'll need a few more wins to lock up a title shot.
That being said, he skipped the line in a way few other fighters do.
Winner: a Real Contender
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When it was announced that Jean Silva and Diego Lopes would be fighting in the main event of Noche UFC, the expectation was for a violent encounter. In the end, the fight was as advertised.
Silva, the slight favorite, was in charge in the early going and was particularly successful with his spinning elbows. Just when it looked like he was about to take complete control, however, Lopes fired back with a picture-perfect elbow of his own and put his foe down. Silva protested the stoppage, but there was no denying it.
It was a huge win for Lopes. As highly regarded as he once was, he came up short in a title shot against Alexander Volkanovski in his last fight, and seemed to be on course to lose again against Silva.
In the end, however, he reminded fight fans that despite his loss to Volkanovski—who is clearly in the last year or two of his career—he's truly world-class. Assuming Volkanovski retires in the next few years, there's no question that Lopes, who can finish fights on the mat or the feet, will be one of the frontrunners to win the vacant title.
Noche UFC Complete Results
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145 lbs.: Diego Lopes vs. Jean Silva
135 lbs: David Martinez def. Rob Font via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
155 lbs.: Rafa Garcia def. Jared Gordon via by TKO at 2:27 of round three
185 lbs.: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
135 lbs.: Santiago Luna def. Quang Le via KO at 2:48 of round one
155 lbs.: Alexander Hernandez def. Diego Ferreira via TKO at 3:46 of round two
185 lbs.: Dusko Todorovic def. Jose Daniel Medina via submission (rear-naked choke at 4:21 of round one
155 lbs.: Joaquim Silva def. Claudio Puelles via split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
115 lbs.: Tatiana Suarez def. Amanda Lemos via unanimous decision (29-28 x3) Jesus Aguilar
125 lbs.: Jesus Aguilar def. Luis Gurule via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)
185.: Zachary Reese vs. Sedriques Dumas ends in no contest (accidental foul) 0:51 of round one
135 lbs.: Alden Coria def. Alessandro Costa via TKO 0:47 at round three
135 lbs.: Montserrat Rendon def. Alice Pereira via split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
170 lbs.: Daniil Donchenko def. Rodrigo Sezinando via TKO at 4:27 of round one
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