Noche UFC 3, aka UFC Fight Night 259, take place tomorrow in San Antonio, Texas, and we’ve got our predictions for all the fights below.

Main Card

Diego Lopes vs. Jean Silva

Diego Lopes fell short in his recent 145lb title challenge against Alexander Volkanovski, and now faces another formidable test in surging contender Jean Silva, who already has five straight UFC victories to his name.

Lopes saw his own five-fight win streak snapped by Volkanovski’s superior technical striking and fight IQ back in April. Still, Lopes did trouble him with his power, even dropping the veteran at one stage and showcased a rock-solid chin over five rounds. As in that fight the 30-year-old will once again enjoy a physical edge here, standing four inches taller than Silva and boasting a 3.5″-inch” reach advantage. Lopes likes to apply constant pressure and has the gas tank to back that up, lands with both accuracy and power, and is unfazed by taking shots in return. On the mat he’s aggressive in hunting out submissions opportunities, chains his attempts fluidly, and while his recent bouts have gone the distance, 22 of his 26 career wins have come via stoppage, including 12 by submission.

Silva has been on fire in the featherweight ranks so far, finishing all five of his UFC opponents. The 28-year-old is a very sharp, calculated striker with speed, power, and an impressive ability to read and counter his opponents. His defensive awareness and keen sense of distance allows him to to be just out of range when his opponents attack, or to slip incoming shots and respond with precision counters. Meanwhile, his agile takedown defense is bolstered by the threat of punishing elbows and uppercuts when his opponents attempts to close the distance. Though he prefers to keep the fight standing, Silva is quick to scramble back to his feet if grounded and showed off his assured submission ability recently by tapping out Bryce Mitchell with a ninja choke. Like Lopes, he’s a prolific finisher, with 15 of his 16 wins coming before the final horn via strikes.

This is a clash of two top featherweight talents, but Silva’s slick, calculated striking, could pose the same kind of problems for Lopes that Volkanovski did — only with more raw power and dynamism. Lopes may look to lean on his grappling advantage, yet Silva’s agility and takedown defense could make that a difficult path. In the end I feel Silva had what it takes to gain the upper-hand here, though Lopes’ durability could help take the fight to the scorecards.

Pick: Jean Silva wins by decision.

Rob Font vs. David Martinez

Rob Font enters this bout off back-to-back wins and is now set to fight late replacement David Martinez, a dangerous prospect who made a statement in his UFC debut back in March with a 1st round KO win, pushing his record to 12-1.

The 38-year-old Font had faced questions marks about his possible decline after dropping four of five fights not so long ago, though that skid came against elite opposition. Since then he’s silenced some doubts by outpointing younger, in-form contenders in Kyler Phillips and Jean Matsumoto, and now he’s set to face another one. A seasoned boxer, Font’s game revolves around a crisp, educated jab honed over his years in the Octagon. While not a one-punch knockout artist, he combines speed, volume, and forward pressure along with the occasional takedowns to good effect. He’s also proven durable, having never been stopped by strikes, but he has been getting hurt more often in recent years. He also continues to be vulnerable to being taken down and controlled, though he’s only been submitted once in his career.

Martin had a reputation as a finisher on the regional circuit and showed the potential to do so in the UFC by knocking out fellow Contender Series alum Saimon Oliveira in his UFC debut. That marked his 10th finish in 12 career wins, powered by a dynamic Muay Thai arsenal that blends fast, accurate kicks and punches alongside flashier, but still effective techniques. He moves well and has shown solid takedown defense, but his ground game remains largely untested.

This is clearly a vast step up in competition for Martinez, and the difficultly level is compounded by the short-notice nature of the call-up. Still, his confidence, versatile striking and speed advantage could trouble Font. The veteran’s jab and pressure may disrupt Martinez’s rhythm, but I think Martinez can rise to the occasion by having the biggest moments on the feet to earn a decision victory.

Pick: David Martinez wins by decision.

Rafa García vs. Jared Gordon

Rafa Garcia enters this match-up after a decision victory over Vinc Pichel earlier in the year, while Jared Gordon comes in riding the momentum of a knockout win against Thiago Moises.

The 31-year-old Garcia first made his mark as a former Combate Americas lightweight champion, but found the going tougher after joining the UFC in 2021, resulting in back-to-back losses. He’s since found his feet though and more wins than losses in recent times leaves him with a 5-4 record in the Octagon. A well-rounded fighter, Garcia is at his most dangerous on the mat, where his strong grappling has produced eight submission wins. On the feet, he’s an aggressive and decently capable striker, though he lacks one-shot finishing power and also suffered the first TKO loss of his career last October.

Gordon is no spring-chicken at 37-years-old, but he remains fighter who likes to push the pace with an active boxing game with respectable power paired with hard-working wrestling and ground-and-pound. Earlier in his career durability was a concern after being stopped in three fights, but he’s now gone five years without being finished by strikes.

This should be reasonably competitive, but I think Gordon has just enough of an edge in the striking and wrestling departments to emerge with his hand raised.

Pick: Jared Gordon wins by decision.

Kelvin Gastelum vs. Dustin Stoltzfus

Kelvin Gastelum returns to action following a unanimous decision loss to Joe Pyfer earlier this year to face Dustin Stoltzfus, who also dropped his last outing on the scorecards against Nursulton Ruziboev.

Gastelum has held his spot in the UFC for 12 years, but the latter half of his career has been a struggle, suffering seven defeats in his last 10 fights. Part of the problems has been repeated issues making 170lbs that forced him to compete at middleweight, where his shorter, stockier frame has often left him at a size disadvantage. Compounding that, his skill set hasn’t really evolved over the years, with his largely predictable striking fundamentals leaving him to continue to rely on quick hands, solid footwork, and his trademark durability to stay competitive. He still carries respectable power for his size, but it’s been eight years since his last finish, and his wrestling is underutilized.

The also 33-year-old Stoltzfus hasn’t really faired much better than Gastelum, winning just three of his nine UFC fights so far. He’s a competent kickboxer, but he tends to be lacking in athleticism and stopping power, with only three stoppages via strikes in 23 career bouts. Durability has also been a concern, with two of his last three losses coming via first-round strikes. Stoltzfus does benefit from being well-rounded though, so he’s most effective when mixing his striking with solid wrestling and a capable submission game that’s led to six finishes.

I’m somewhat reluctantly going to pick Gastelum here, as while many of his performances have been uninspiring, I do feel that stylistically this is a match-up that may favor him as he’s got a distinct speed advantage, is far more durable and I think might just have enough left in his eroding wrestling game to keep the fight on the feet to win by decision.

Pick: Kelvin Gastelum wins by decision.

Alexander Hernandez vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira

Alexander Hernandez has managed to compile a three-fight winning streak and hopes to continue to build on that against Carlos Diego Ferreira, who came into 2025 off back-to-back victories, but was beaten by decision in January.

Hernandez has spent much of his UFC run failing to live up to expectations, going through a spell of seven losses in 11 fights. However, at 32-years-old Hernandez is now suddenly enjoying his best run of form in the promotion to date as he tries to live up to his early potential. Hernandez is a physically strong fighter with solid boxing that sees him works nicely to the head and body, respectable power, and a capable kicking game too. He can wrestle too, but his high-energy style has been known to tax his gas tank later on his fights, which has proven costly at times.

Ferreira was a notable player in the UFC for a number of years and was on a six-fight winning streak before a sudden decline in 2021 saw him lose three fights in a row. After a lengthy layoff, he returned in mid-2023 revitalized, scoring back-to-back stoppage wins. Now 40, Ferreira is coming off a loss to Grant Dawson, but when he’s on form he remains a well-rounded threat, combining active striking, solid wrestling, and high-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He was however TKO’d twice during his poor run of form and had cardio issues too, but since his comeback his conditioning appears to have improved.

I’m not entirely convinced that Hernandez can keep his winning run going, but at the same time I’m not confident in Ferreira either given his age and that bizarre dip in form he had a few years ago. Overall though when you look at their entire body of work in the UFC it’s Ferreira who has been the more consistent fighter, and so with his more active striking over the full three rounds together with having the better grappling game I’ll take him to win on the scorecards here.

Pick: Carlos Diego Ferreira wins by decision.

Santiago Luna vs. Quang Le

Santiago Luna brings a perfect 6-0 record into his UFC debut, where he’ll step in on just two weeks’ notice to face Quang Le, who rebounded from two early UFC losses with a submission win in May.

At only 21 years old, Luna is still early in his development and hasn’t faced much in the way of credible opposition so far. That said, he’s done everything asked of him on the regional scene, finishing all six opponents while showing the makings of a well-rounded skill set. He carries genuine punching power that has dropped multiple foes and complements that nicely with versatile takedowns and has secured four submission stoppages so far.

Le endured a rough start in the promotion but looked improved in his most recent outing. A veteran of the LFA circuit, the 33-year-old is the more experienced fighter here and shows that with his composed grappling and measured striking style. While not the fastest or most explosive on the feet, his calculated approach can have it’s moments and help set up takedowns too. That said, he suffered the first knockout loss of his career last November, raising some durability questions.

This is a tough ask for a young fighter like Luna on short notice against a seasoned opponent, and Le’s crafty style could expose weaknesses in his still-developing game. Still, Luna’s aggression, heavier hands, and finishing instincts could make an impact here and so I’ll say ‘Border Boy’ fights his way to a 2nd round TKO victory.

Pick: Santiago Luna wins by TKO in Rd2.

Prelims (Predicted winners in bold)

José Daniel Medina vs. Duško Todorović
Claudio Puelles vs. Joaquim Silva
Tatiana Suarez vs. Amanda Lemos
Jesús 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