Jean Silva Picked to Beat Jose Delgado at 13-Fight Noche UFC Card

Q: Can Curtis Blaydes survive Waldo Cortes-Acosta's heavy hands, or will recent brutal wars finally end his heavyweight run?

Blaydes can survive if he turns this into a wrestling fight immediately, but the safer pick is that Cortes-Acosta’s power and Blaydes’ recent wear finally catch up with him. The path for Blaydes is clear and still credible. He remains one of the best wrestlers the heavyweight division has seen, owns more takedowns than any UFC heavyweight, and has the kind of top control that can take a striker’s rhythm away. If he can get under Cortes-Acosta’s jab, chain takedowns, and force long stretches of clinch and mat control, he can blunt the Dominican’s biggest weapon. The concern is whether Blaydes can get to that phase without absorbing damaging shots. Cortes-Acosta is a natural boxer with a sharp jab, improving counter right hand, and proven three-round pace. He has never been finished, and his recent résumé includes a knockout of Derrick Lewis and a competitive decision loss to Alexander Volkov. At 6-foot-4 and around 260 pounds, he is big enough to make Blaydes work for every entry. The durability question around Blaydes is real. He is 35, coming off punishing recent fights, including a hard loss to Josh Hokit, and his chin has become a central talking point entering this matchup. Against a heavy-handed, volume boxer, that matters. So yes, Blaydes can survive if his wrestling takes over early. But based on recent damage, form, and the matchup on the feet, Cortes-Acosta is rightly favored to break him down and potentially end the fight with strikes.

Q: With the flyweight belt vacant, who will seize the ultimate title shot in the technical war between Fiorot and Grasso?

Manon Fiorot appears best positioned to seize the title shot. The Fiorot-Grasso bout at Noche UFC has been confirmed as a women’s flyweight title eliminator, with the winner slated to face whoever emerges from the vacant-title fight between Natalia Silva and Wang Cong at UFC 332. With Valentina Shevchenko sidelined and having vacated the belt, the stakes for Fiorot and Grasso are unusually clear: win Saturday, and a championship opportunity follows. On form and style, Fiorot has the edge. She is coming off a TKO win over Jasmine Jasudavicius and enters as the betting favorite. Analysts broadly expect a technical fight fought at range, and that tends to suit Fiorot’s speed, distance control and volume. Several previews point to parallels with Grasso’s loss to Natalia Silva, where Grasso struggled against a quicker, longer-range striker who dictated tempo. Grasso remains a live threat. The former champion revived her standing with a knockout of Maycee Barber, and her boxing, timing and experience in big moments make her dangerous if exchanges tighten in the pocket. If she can disrupt Fiorot’s rhythm and turn the fight into extended combinations at closer range, she has a path. Still, the most likely outcome is Fiorot by decision in a close but disciplined striking battle. If that holds, she would move to the front of the line for the division’s next championship fight.

3 articles · Updated · MMA Fighting · Sep 12

Saturday’s 13-fight Noche UFC card is forecast to end with Jean Silva beating late replacement Jose Miguel Delgado, likely by knockout, in Silva’s bid to erase last year’s stoppage loss in the event headliner.
Delgado stepped in for injured Yair Rodriguez and is viewed as a dangerous featherweight prospect, but the preview argues Silva’s power and five-round experience should eventually break him down despite early problems.
Brandon Moreno is also picked to rebound, with the former two-time flyweight champion favored to outstrike Joseph Morales over 3 rounds after recent setbacks against younger contenders.
Other notable calls back Alexa Grasso for an upset over Manon Fiorot, Waldo Cortes-Acosta to stop Curtis Blaydes, and David Martinez to handle Dan Ige after Ige’s drop to 135 pounds.
The event takes place at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, with the prelims starting at 2 p.m. ET and the main card at 5 p.m. ET on Paramount+.