The third annual Noche UFC event, meant to commemorate Mexico’s independence, features a pair of popular Brazilian featherweights in an anticipated main event Saturday in San Antonio.
Diego Lopes, who lives and trains out of Mexico, takes on the streaking Fighting Nerds standout Jean Silva in a five-round contest in the 145-pound division.
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Flyweight contenders Brandon Royval and Manel Kape meet at the UFC Apex in the final main event of 2025. Watch UFC Fight Night action Saturday, Dec. 13 on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet+ with coverage beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
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The co-main event sees Mexico’s David Martinez face bantamweight stalwart Rob Font. Jared Gordon will look to extend his hot streak against Rafa Garcia in main card action and Kelvin Gastelum aims to return to the win column after missing weight by a a whopping five pounds when he takes on Dustin Stoltzfus.
Alice Pereira will set a new UFC record when she makes her debut against Montserrat Rendon on the preliminary card. Pereira is only 19 years old and the youngest women’s fighter in UFC history. The Brazilian is 5-0 as a pro with four stoppage wins, while the 36-year-old Rendon is 6-1 from Mexico and has gone the distance in all seven of her fights.
Also on the prelims, The TUF 33 welterweight tournament final between Rodrigo Sezinando and Daniil Donchenko was originally scheduled for the UFC 319 prelims but the matchup was rebooked for this card after an undisclosed injury to Sezinando postponed the bout.
Projected bout order plus full predictions for Noche UFC below:
MAIN CARD
-- Diego Lopes vs. Jean Silva
-- Rob Font vs. David Martinez
-- Rafa Garcia vs. Jared Gordon
-- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
-- Alexander Hernandez vs. Diego Ferreira
-- Santiago Luna vs. Quang Le
PRELIMINARY CARD
-- Jose Medina vs. Dusko Todorovic
-- Claudio Puelles vs. Joaquim Silva
-- Tatiana Suarez vs. Amanda Lemos
-- Jesus Santos Aguilar vs. Luis Gurule
-- Zachary Reese vs. Sedriques Dumas
-- Alessandro Costa vs. Alden Coria
-- Montserrat Rendon vs. Alice Pereira
-- Rodrigo Sezinando vs. Daniil Donchenko (TUF 33 welterweight final)
Ahead of each UFC event in 2025, UFC reporter Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter), producer Dan Fernandes (@DanFernandes__) and writer/editor Mike Johnston (@MikeyJ_MMA) will peruse the odds and make four betting predictions using fantasy dollars: one best bet, one favourite, one underdog and one dart throw wager. REMINDER: Sportsnet is committed to promoting and educating audiences about the importance of betting responsibly. Sources for responsible gambling can be found HERE.
AARON'S PICKS
Cage Lock: Reese vs. Dumas ends inside the distance -550
Favourite: Rob Font -125
Underdog: Rodrigo Sezinando +185
Dart Throw: Jesus Aguilar by submission +550
Reese and Dumas are both potent finishers and action fighters with both combining for 19 of 24 fights ending inside the distance, which is a recipe for a near certain finish if I have ever seen one. … While David Martinez was in camp to face Quang Le, he ends up filling in for Raul Rosas Jr. in the co-main event to face Font in just his second UFC fight. I think that Martinez is a solid prospect, but this is too much, too soon. … I was surprised that Sezinando was not the favourite against Donchenko. Perhaps his recent injury played a role, but I believe Sezinando is the more complete fighter and should not be this big of an underdog. … If there is one thing that you can rely on Aguilar for, it’s jumping guillotines and he has a deadly one that Gurule will have to worry about if he decides to shoot for a takedown at any time. Submission has always been Aguilar’s best winning condition and I believe that it is in this fight as well.
DAN'S PICKS
Cage Lock: Tatiana Suarez -470
Favourite: Kelvin Gastelum -230
Underdog: Alexander Hernandez +100
Dart Throw: Reese by decision +600
I’m supremely confident in all four of my selections this week. Tatiana Suarez should bounce after being smothered by Zhang Weili the last time out. She is too much of a perfectionist to drop two in a row and looks super motivated heading into this one. Amanda Lemos is a veteran of the sport who has faced top tier opposition, but this could be a case of the wrong matchup at the wrong time here. … Despite missing weight by a significant margin, Kelvin Gastelum and his granite chin should make him impervious to Dustin Stoltzfus’ punching power. Gastelum, like he has done so many times in the past, should find a way to win here. Stoltzfus has struggled when facing accomplished UFC talent and this trend should continue. … I think Hernandez is capable of beating anyone outside of the top five in the division at the moment. Less than one month ago he stopped the previously unstoppable Chase Hooper with an empathic KO. Diego Ferreira is 40 years old and more than one year removed from his last UFC win. How is Hernandez the underdog here? … I think there’s a good chance Reese gets his hand raised by decision Saturday. I think he is a better fighter than Sedriques Dumas but won’t be able to bulldoze his way through. Dumas was knocked out the last time around and should be both wary and savvy enough to avoid a repeat performance. Neither fighter has a victory in the UFC by submission, so a decision here could be a likely scenario here if the heavy hitting is cancelled out.
MIKE'S PICKS
Cage Lock: Alessandro Costa -400
Favourite: Jared Gordon -250
Underdog: Diego Lopes +225
Dart Throw: Dustin Stoltzfus by submission +1300
This is an awesome main event matchup we’re getting and the line should be much closer than its listing. Lopes has shown holes in his game in recent outings, sure, but he has faced tougher competition in the UFC and has what it takes to end Silva’s hot streak. … Alessandro Costa is a quality UFC-calibre flyweight and Alden Coria is taking a huge step-up in competition for his short-notice UFC debut. … Jared Gordon continues to be one of the most underrated and underappreciated lightweights in the sport. … Stoltzfus is being completely overlooked against Gastelum who missed weight yet again.
CAGE LOCKS PARLAY
Three legs: pick + pick + pick
Parlay odds: -126 (to win: $79.15)
2025 STANDINGS AFTER 30 EVENTS
CAGE LOCKS PARLAY
2025 record: 16-14 (L1)
2025 winnings: +$83.58 (on $100 bets)
AARON'S RECORDS/TOTALS (63-56-1, +20.11 units)
Cage Lock: 25-5 (+$5.21)
Favourite: 15-15 (-$674.46)
Underdog: 15-14-1 (+$880.24)
Dart throw: 8-22 (+$1,800)
DAN'S RECORDS/TOTALS (61-56-3, -10.88 units)
Cage Lock: 25-5 (-$13.01)
Favourite: 18-11-1 (-$215.34)
Underdog: 16-13-1 (+$730.24)
Dart throw: 2-27-1 (-$1,590)
MIKE'S RECORDS/TOTALS (49-67-4, -25.17 units)
Cage Lock: 21-9 (-$222.23)
Favourite: 16-14 (-$370.14)
Underdog: 11-17-2 (+$310)
Dart throw: 1-27-2 (-$2,235)
Cage Lock: The pick deemed to be the wager most likely to win regardless of what the odds look like. The Cage Locks parlay will combine Aaron’s, Dan’s and Mike’s respective best bet for each event.
Favourite: A fighter with winning odds shorter than -300 but not longer than -110. On chalkier cards with a dearth of available moneyline favourites that meet those criteria, prop bets are allowed to be selected.
Underdog: Any fighter with longer odds than their opponent’s.
Dart Throw: Any prop bet or moneyline wager with odds of +400 or longer.
(Betting odds above submitted at various times throughout week, and subject to change prior to the fights)
