Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out a live video stream of the Noche UFC ceremonial weigh-ins from Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS – Noche UFC ceremonial fighter weigh-ins take place Friday, and you can catch a live video stream of the proceedings here on MMA Junkie at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT).
The weigh-ins take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The same venue hosts Saturday’s event, which streams on ESPN+.
In addition to the video stream above, you can check out the early and official Noche UFC weigh-in results from earlier in the day.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Noche UFC.
Check out the UFC’s 30th anniversary Q&A panel featuring today’s stars ahead of the Noche UFC ceremonial weigh-ins.
LAS VEGAS – Leading up to the UFC’s 30th anniversary, the promotion hosts athlete Q&A sessions with today’s top stars.
Ahead of the Noche UFC ceremonial weigh-ins, former flyweight champion [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag], along with bantamweight contender [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag], and top strawweight [autotag]Tatiana Suarez[/autotag] fielded questions from media and fans at Toshiba Plaza.
Check out video of the Q&A above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Noche UFC.
Valentina Shevchenko hasn’t lost hope on a potential trilogy with Amanda Nunes.
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LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] hasn’t lost hope on a potential trilogy with [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag].
Shevchenko (23-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC) will look to reclaim the women’s flyweight title when she rematches champion Alexa Grasso (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) Saturday in the main event of Noche UFC at T-Mobile Arena. The event streams on ESPN+.
Outside of her recent upset submission loss to Grasso, Shevchenko has only lost twice in the octagon, both to Nunes. Shevchenko is adamant she won their rematch at UFC 215, but the judges awarded Nunes the split decision win. With Nunes hanging up her gloves in June, Shevchenko had some nice words to say about her former rival.
“First of all, Amanda – she’s an amazing fighter,” Shevchenko told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “She did amazing things in this sport and I feel that many people, they’re kind of starting to judge a little bit, to say, ‘Oh she’s retired.’ But I want to say no one has the right to judge a fighter who did that much.”
After losing to Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) a second time, Shevchenko returned to flyweight where she ruled the division for four years. Nunes continued to dominate bantamweight, but their paths never crossed again. Despite Nunes being retired, Shevchenko isn’t ruling out a rubber match.
“I think our second fight, she didn’t win,” Shevchenko said. “I think I won that fight. Many people think the same, and what I can say right now? If in the future sometime she feels like she rested, she refocused, she feels she wants to come back, I still plan to be around. We still will maybe have this opportunity.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Noche UFC.
Official weigh-ins for Noche UFC are complete following Friday’s session. Check out our photo gallery and video highlights.
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LAS VEGAS – The Noche UFC fight card now is official following Friday’s official weigh-in session where all 22 fighters successfully made weight.
Saturday’s card, which takes place at T-Mobile in Las Vegas, is headlined by a women’s flyweight title rematch. The special event, which streams on ESPN+, is themed around Mexican Independence Day and Spanish Heritage Month.
Women’s 125-pound champion Alexa Grasso (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) takes on former champ Valentina Shevchenko (23-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC), whom she submitted earlier this year to win the title, in the main event rematch. In the co-feature, Jack Della Maddalena (15-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) puts his unbeaten UFC record on the line against Kevin Holland (25-9 MMA, 12-6 UFC) at welterweight.
Check out the weigh-in highlights in the video above, and a link to the photo gallery from Friday’s happenings below.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Noche UFC.
Check out our staff members’ picks and analysis for the main card at Noche UFC in Las Vegas.
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The UFC is back in Las Vegas this week with a special event for Mexican Independence Day, and the women’s flyweight title is on the line.
Noche UFC takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
Get pick results from our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, as well as additional analysis, below.
Check out the results from the official Noche UFC fighter weigh-ins, featuring Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2.
LAS VEGAS – The Noche UFC card stayed intact after all 22 fighters made weight on Friday morning.
Alexa Grasso (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) and Valentina Shevchenko (23-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC) who headline Noche UFC this Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena, were the first to step on the scale and both registered championship weight, both coming in at 124.5 pounds.
The rematch is OFFICIAL! Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko were the first two to the scale ahead of their #NocheUFC title clash. ⚖️ pic.twitter.com/hDbuEAdGMr
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 15, 2023
The official weigh-ins took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and precede the ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans, which take place at 6 p.m. ET at the Toshiba Plaza in front of T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The same venue hosts Saturday’s event, which streams on ESPN+.
Additionally, Jack Della Maddalena (15-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) and Kevin Holland (25-9 MMA, 12-6 UFC) also made the welterweight limit for their co-main event clash.
You can check out the complete Noche UFC weigh-in results below:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Noche UFC.
The main event for a historic UFC event celebrating Mexican Independence Day is official after the headliners made weight Friday.
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LAS VEGAS – The main event for a historic UFC event celebrating Mexican Independence Day and Hispanic Heritage Month is official.
Women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag], from Mexico, and former champ [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] were the first to weigh-in and looked to register championship weight with ease ahead of their immediate rematch. Both weighed in at 124.5 pounds.
Grasso (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) meets Shevchenko (23-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC) in the main event of Noche UFC, which goes down on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Check out Grasso and Shevchenko’s trips to the scale at the official weigh-ins in the video above.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Noche UFC.
MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the Noche UFC main event, a title rematch between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko.
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MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the UFC’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main event for Noche UFC.
Noche UFC takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.
Alexa Grasso thinks Valentina Shevchenko deserves to be the cover athlete of ‘EA UFC 5.’
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LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] deserves to be the cover athlete of ‘EA UFC 5.’
Former women’s flyweight champion Shevchenko joins featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski on the cover of the video game, with ex-middleweight champ Israel Adesanya on the cover of a special deluxe edition.
Considering that Grasso dethroned Shevchenko by fourth-round submission to claim the flyweight title at UFC 285, she was asked if she should have been on the cover instead. A classy Grasso said Shevchenko’s accolades need to be recognized.
“No, I don’t think they made a mistake. We can’t forget about everything she has done for the sport,” Grasso told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “She’s a big, big star and it’s not like a win (takes away) all the credit you have done just right now. I have to earn that. I have to have a lot of title defenses, and then after I would hope that I can have my face on the cover of the game.”
Shevchenko was also asked about gracing the cover of the video game during media day, and the former champion said she was grateful for the recognition.
“I’m very honored to be cover of the UFC game,” Shevchenko said. “It’s a huge motivation for me – second female fighter who is on the cover of UFC fight game. It’s a very inspirational thing for me. But from other side for me, there is no after the fight at this moment. Everything for me, it’s in the fight.”
Shevchenko (23-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC) will look to reclaim her flyweight title from Grasso (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) when the pair rematch in Saturday’s Noche UFC headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Noche UFC.
Loopy Godinez shares her experience of now training full time at Lobo Gym ahead of her return at Saturday’s Noche UFC.
[autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag] has made some big changes in her fighting career, and she’s confident they were the correct moves.
The UFC strawweight changed teams ahead of her return at Saturday’s Noche UFC, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Godinez (10-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) takes on Elise Reed, and she did all her camp and preparation at Lobo Gym in Guadalajara, Mexico alongside UFC women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso, who headlines against Valentina Shevchenko.
Godinez has trained before with Lobo Gym, but has now made it her home, and this was the first time she did a full training camp under their banner. The 30-year-old is confident this change was needed for her to achieve her dream of becoming UFC champion.
“We’re taking things step by step, but I can guarantee you that where I need to be, that being with Lobo Gym,” Godinez told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “This is the team that I need to go for the belt, and this (camp) was a confirmation of that. Doing a full camp made me go, ‘Yes. This is where I need to be.'”
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Godinez, who is 4-1 in her past five UFC fights, felt honored to train alongside Grasso as she gets ready to complete her first title defense. Grasso is the first Mexico-born female to win a UFC title, and she’s currently ranked No. 1 in the UFC’s female pound-for-pound rankings.
“Yeah, imagine training with her every day,” Godinez said. “The two of us have pushed each other a lot, and you obviously go through ups and downs, that’s normal in a tough camp. So when I’m down she cheers me on and when she’s down I’m there to cheer her up, so we’ve had very good chemistry. Let’s hope that we can share cards more often because it’s very helpful having both of us going through the same.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Noche UFC.
