Yesterday (Sat., Sept. 12, 2026), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured forth to Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona for Noche UFC 4. Although this year’s Noche UFC event didn’t have the hype of previous years, it was still a solid card. Even without Yair Rodriguez in the main event, all of the matchups promised excitement, and there were quite a few ranked fighters mixed throughout the card.
Let’s take a closer look at the best performances and highlight finishes of the evening:
(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
A Main Event Club And Sub
Jean Silva picked up another violent win in his main event slot versus short-notice replacement Jose Delgado.
You never know what you’re going to get with “Lord Assassin.” Will he cry in the cage or dap up his opponent repeatedly? Barks are a guarantee, at least. In this bout, Silva made the unusual decision to not throw a single strike or actively defend one for three continuous minutes. He didn’t wake up until Delgado floored him with a 1-2!
Fortunately, Silva’s corner ripped into him, and he woke up in the second. From that point forward, he barely took a significant strike aside from calf kicks. Silva entered search-and-destroy mode, methodically working the rangier Delgado to the fence and honing in that bomb of a right hand. He touched the body in the process, making Delgado visibly uncomfortable and hesitant in the face of his power.
Before too long, that right hand found the mark perfectly as a kick counter. Delgado hit the floor in a world of hurt, and Silva scored a brilliant one-armed rear naked choke as Delgado tried to wrestle his way to safety. Silva may be a weirdo, but he’s also a remarkable finisher with a unique gift for creating violence.
I hope he receives his title shot.
(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Tommy McMillen was forced to dig deep to defeat Marwan Rahiki.
From the first bell, this was a smarter and more measured performance from McMillen. He couldn’t afford to just throw insane volume at Rahiki, who is a vicious counter puncher. Instead, the high school wrestling champion turned to the takedown early. He also mixed more kicks and feints into his offense, hiding his right hand behind off-beat timing.
Even so, this was a bloody brawl. McMillen’s volume carried him through the first frame, but Rahiki’s counter shots found the mark in the second. A left uppercut knocked down McMillen and left him wobbly, leaving the prospect vulnerable to lots of follow-up shots. Rahiki didn’t headhunt either: he ripped hooks to the mid-section and timed several hard knees.
Despite all the damage, McMillen took over the pivotal third round. He dropped a fatiguing Rahiki with an overhand right and then stayed on him, threatening front chokes and attacking ground strikes for most of the round. Rahiki showed his heart by continually fighting back to his feet, but nothing he did bought him any space to breathe.
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – SEPTEMBER 12: (L-R) Alexa Grasso of Mexico punches Manon Fiorot of France in their women’s flyweight fight during the Noche UFC event at Desert Diamond Arena on September 12, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Alexa Grasso vs. Manon Fiorot was a fun fight.
Grasso entered this fight with an influx of confidence and aggression. She stormed out of the gate, firing punches in bunches to immediately get in Fiorot’s face. Fiorot may have been bigger and stronger, but she was surprised by her foe’s aggression and far less fluid in the pocket. As a result, she was cracked numerous times along the fence and later dropped.
Fiorot worked her way back into the fight in round two. Grasso slowed a little bit, allowing Fiorot to spend more time kicking and jabbing at distance. She also opened a nasty cut above Grasso’s eye with an intercepting knee. Even so, Grasso landed the heaviest punches and won the round with her pressure and pace. Despite all the damage, Fiorot was fresher in round three and landed a lot of shots, leaving Grasso bloody at the final bell … but still victorious.
There are two clear takeaways here. First and foremost, Grasso is still getting better. She’s more consistently implementing her boxing prowess in the cage, which is the defining trait of her game that separates her from most of the division. It was great to see her really push that advantage and build a strong lead early in the fight.
Fiorot, conversely, is a bit of a mess. For all her athletic ability, her footwork is awful. She stood so side-on that she struggled to throw her left hand without crossing her feet or falling forward. The tricky kicks are nice, but that’s a bad trade-off, one usually covered up by raw athleticism and size. If Fiorot is to capture UFC gold, fixing her stance is a necessity.
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – SEPTEMBER 11: Yousri Belgaroui of The Netherlands during the Noche UFC official weigh-ins at Sheraton Phoenix Downtown on September 11, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Middleweight’s Boogeyman
34-year-old Yousri Belgaroui has earned a shot at a ranked opponent.
Despite a decorated kickboxing career, the combination of age and an earlier career loss on Contender Series meant that nobody was considering Belgaroui as a serious prospect. Twice he entered the cage as an underdog, and twice he absolutely battered highly-touted prospects en route to knockout wins. The murderous beating he put on Mansur Abdul-Malik last time out was insane, a three-round mauling that may have changed the course of Abdul-Malik’s entire career.
Belgaroui isn’t an underdog anymore.
Last night, Belgaroui walked through a short-notice replacement named Djorden Santos. The 6’6” kickboxer once again picked his shots beautifully, damaging Santos at all levels before a jab rocked him midway through the first. Belgaroui immediately opened up, and a trio of clubbing right hands sealed the deal for the first-round knockout.
Middleweight has an established history of excellent, rangy strikers rising to the rank of champion. It’s time to let Belgaroui take a step up the ladder and try to be the next one!
Tim Elliott defeats Edgar Chairez via unanimous decision: At nearly 40 years of age, Elliott is still an outrageously durable and effective Flyweight. Chairez absolutely teed off on his face for about two minutes, landing snapping right hands and crushing left hooks at a scary rate. Elliott wobbled around once or twice, but he worked his way back into the fight with stabbing front kicks and an overhand left that dropped his opponent! Once he was in the exchanges rather than just a punching bag, Elliott baited Chairez into takedowns repeatedly, wearing down his much younger foe through wiles and toughness. In a bloody fun fight, Elliott proved there’s still plenty of gas left in the tank against a quality opponent.Thomas Gantt defeats Drakkar Klose via third-round reverse triangle choke (highlights): It wasn’t a ton of fun to watch, but Gantt absolutely dominated an experienced and credentialed UFC Lightweight. He’s only been a professional fighter for about two years, and yet the decorated wrestler absolutely smothered Klose along the fence. He couldn’t get Klose to the canvas early on — with the help of a few key fence grabs — but he still pinned him to the fence and wore down Klose. In round three, Gantt finally completed a takedown with real top control. Despite all the fatiguing grappling, he was able to advance position quickly, jump on the back, and attack a submission as Klose tried to shake him off. Prior to this defeat, Klose was 10-3 in the Octagon against quality opposition, making this victory a real statement for the up-and-coming Gantt.Sean King defeats Jessie Rosas via first-round knockout (highlights): Oof, this was a rough debut for the elder Rosas brother! Neither debutant is particularly experienced, which made this bout difficult to predict ahead of time. Once the two were in the cage? King looked a full weight class bigger! He unleashed some nice body kicks before ducking onto the hips, lifting Rosas into the air and returning him to the floor with authority. Rosas landed on his face and was out cold — the whole fight lasted less than 40 seconds.For complete Noche UFC 4 results and play-by-play click here.