Jean Silva suffered a devastating loss in last year's Noche UFC main event. But this year, he got his hand raised in impressive fashion.
The featherweight contender submitted Jose Miguel Delgado with a rear-naked choke in his second consecutive Noche UFC headliner Saturday at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Silva dropped Delgado and then locked up the submission shortly thereafter, forcing the tap at the 2:57 mark of the third round.
😲 Jean Silva fait taper Jose Delgado avec un seul bras !!!
— RMC Sport Combat (@RMCSportCombat) September 13, 2026
🇧🇷 Le Brésilien s'impose dans le 3e round ! #RMCMMA pic.twitter.com/GFi5CtHkXV
The Brazilian had to overcome an uncharacteristically slow start against Delgado. In the opening minutes of the first round, Silva threw hardly any strikes and got dropped with a right hand.
He started to come alive in the second round, landing a big flurry of punches and then dragging Delgado to the ground. And then in the third, Silva pulled away and showed he's on another level with a one-armed rear-naked choke finish.
Silva is now riding a two-fight winning streak after earning a unanimous decision victory over Arnold Allen at UFC 324 in January. The 29-year-old improved to 7-1 in the Octagon; his lone blemish is a second-round knockout loss to Diego Lopes in last year's Noche UFC main event.
Delgado stepped in on less than a month's notice after Yair Rodriguez withdrew from the main event due to injury. The 28-year-old Arizona native fell to 4-2 in the promotion.
