Noche UFC 4: Key Matchups and Future Fights
Mexico’s Independence Day has become UFC’s annual promise: the cage will deliver. Noche UFC 4 kept that pact. No title fights, only four finishes, but a card loaded with consequence and a main event that turned into a test of nerve as much as skill.
Now comes the matchmaking puzzle. And this time, the answers are obvious.
Jean Silva vs. Yair Rodriguez – Unfinished Business
Jean Silva had to walk through fire before he could celebrate.
Delgado started better. Sharper, looser, more comfortable in the early exchanges. Silva, though, did what seasoned finishers do: he adjusted. Once “Lord” found his rhythm, the fight flipped. He took the back, locked the rear-naked choke and forced the tap at 2:57 of Round 3, notching his 16th finish in 18 wins and moving to 7-1 in the UFC.
That kind of closing instinct deserves a marquee name. It already had one.
Silva and Yair Rodriguez were supposed to share the cage at Noche UFC 4 before Rodriguez withdrew with an injury. Stylistically, it’s chaos waiting to happen: Silva’s forward march and finishing threat against Rodriguez’s wild, angular striking and veteran savvy. Rankings aside, it feels like the right fight at the right time.
They booked it once. They should book it again.
Brandon Moreno vs. Kyoji Horiguchi – A Superfight, Even If It’s Late
Brandon Moreno doesn’t do quiet nights.
Against Joseph Morales, the former two-time flyweight champion went to war again. Fifteen hard minutes, constant exchanges, momentum swings, and in the end a split decision that went Moreno’s way. Two judges saw it for “The Assassin Baby,” who once more found success in Glendale, the city where he first claimed UFC gold at UFC 263.
At 24-10-2 with a 13-7-2 UFC record, Moreno has been through the division’s grinder. He’s fought champions, prospects, and every style the 125-pound class can throw at him. The next step shouldn’t be a tune-up. It should be a statement.
Kyoji Horiguchi fits that bill.
The former two-division Rizin titleholder and Bellator MMA champion is coming off a loss to Manel Kape, but his body of work speaks for itself. Moreno vs. Horiguchi might be a couple of years past its absolute peak window, yet the intrigue remains: two elite, well-rounded flyweights, both with championship pedigree, both trying to prove they still belong at the very top.
It’s not a rebuild fight. It’s a legacy one.
Tommy McMillen vs. Losene Keita – Prospects on a Collision Course
Tommy McMillen didn’t get the finish, but he got what matters most: clarity.
Against fellow DWCS product Marwan Rahiki, McMillen went the full 15 minutes and came away with a unanimous decision. It was a test of pace and composure, not highlight-reel violence, and the 28-year-old moved to 12-0, 3-0 in the UFC, still unbeaten and still rising.
He used his post-fight interview wisely, too. He asked for Dec. 12.
If the UFC wants to answer that call with something meaningful, Losene Keita is the name.
Keita, a former two-division Oktagon MMA champion, just announced himself to the wider fanbase with a first-round knockout at UFC Paris. He’s explosive, dangerous early, and already looks like a serious addition to the featherweight mix.
McMillen vs. Keita feels inevitable. Two surging prospects, both with real upside, both needing that next level of opponent. Put them together now, let one of them break through in December, and the division gets a new player in the rankings conversation.
Alexa Grasso Back to the Belt – Waiting on Silva vs. Wang
Only one women’s bout landed on the main card, and Alexa Grasso made sure it mattered.
Manon Fiorot didn’t fold. She rarely does. But Grasso, the former flyweight champion, found enough answers across three rounds to secure a unanimous decision and push her record to 18-5-1 overall and 10-5-1 in the UFC. It wasn’t domination; it was grit, timing, and big moments when she needed them.
The picture at 125 pounds is suddenly clear.
Valentina Shevchenko, the former two-time champion and long-time standard-bearer, is sidelined with injury. Natalia Silva and Cong Wang will headline UFC 332 on Oct. 3, with the winner likely stepping forward as the next fresh title option.
Grasso should be waiting for whoever emerges.
On a two-fight win streak, with a belt already on her résumé and a proven track record at flyweight, she is the natural No. 1 contender. She’ll be watching Silva vs. Wang closely, not as a spectator, but as the woman poised to greet the winner with five rounds and a belt on the line.
Curtis Blaydes vs. Serghei Spivac – Gatekeeper Meets Grinder
The heavyweight bout on this card carried stakes, if not sizzle.
Curtis Blaydes outpointed Waldo Cortes-Acosta over three largely forgettable rounds, taking a unanimous decision and moving to 20-6, 1 NC overall, 15-6, 1 NC in the UFC. The win keeps him exactly where he has been for years: hovering just outside the very top, the man you must beat to prove you belong in the title conversation.
He’s alternating wins and losses, and this latest performance won’t push him anywhere near a championship shot. But his role remains vital. He is still the gatekeeper to the top five.
Serghei Spivac is the right test for that gate.
At 18-7, 9-7 in the UFC, “The Polar Bear” has built his reputation on mauling grappling and relentless top pressure. Matching him with Blaydes, one of the best pure wrestlers in the division, creates a compelling stylistic clash: can Spivac impose his game on a takedown machine, or does Blaydes shut the door on another hopeful contender?
They haven’t fought yet. It’s time they did.
David Martinez vs. Mario Bautista – A Contender Emerges
David Martinez didn’t just beat a name. He managed a moment.
Welcoming long-time UFC featherweight Dan Ige to the bantamweight division, “Black Spartan” leaned on volume, precision and constant pressure to secure a unanimous decision and extend his winning streak to 11. The crowd wasn’t always thrilled with the tempo, but the result was undeniable: Martinez is now 15-1, 4-0 in the UFC, and the days of quiet matchmaking are over.
He needs a step up. Mario Bautista is exactly that.
Bautista, 18-3 with a 12-3 UFC mark, is riding back-to-back wins, including a crucial victory in his rematch with Cory Sandhagen at UFC 329. He’s durable, dangerous, and firmly planted near the sharp end of the division.
Martinez vs. Bautista isn’t just a fun matchup; it’s a sorting bout. The winner doesn’t just move up. He might very well punch his ticket into the title conversation at 135 pounds.
On a night built to celebrate a nation, Noche UFC 4 quietly reshaped multiple divisions. The next wave is already forming. The only question now is which of these matchups the UFC is brave enough to make.
