Jean Silva flips the script on Jose Delgado with stunning one-armed submission. Jean Silva produced a spectacular comeback in the Noche UFC 4 main event, submitting Jose Miguel Delgado with a rare one-armed rear-naked choke at 2:57 of Round 3.
The UFC returns to Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Saturday, September 12, for Noche UFC 4, with featherweight contenders Jean Silva and Jose Delgado headling the Mexican Independence Day celebration. The matchup has already taken an unexpected turn. Silva was originally scheduled to face former interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez, but Rodriguez was forced out of the fight with an injury. Jose Delgado stepped in as the replacement, giving the Arizona fighter the biggest opportunity of his young UFC career. Both Jean Silva and Jose Delgado enter the Noche UFC 4 main event with momentum, but they arrived at the matchup through very different paths.
Jean Silva is 17-3 overall and 6-1 in the UFC. His most recent outing was a unanimous-decision victory over Arnold Allen at UFC 324 in January 2026, a bounce-back win after suffering his first UFC defeat against Diego Lopes in September 2025. Lopes stopped Silva by second-round TKO after a spinning elbow and follow-up punches. Before that setback, Silva had built an impressive run inside the Octagon, beating Bryce Mitchell and many other fighters. His victory over Allen restored his momentum and put him back into the featherweight title conversation.
Jose Delgado, meanwhile, brings a 12-2 professional record and a 4-1 UFC record into his first UFC main event. The Arizona fighter is coming off back-to-back victories over Andre Fili and Austin Bashi earlier in 2026, giving him the biggest opportunity of his career against Silva. His only UFC defeat came against Nathaniel Wood in 2025. Delgado’s recent form makes him an intriguing replacement opponent. He has won four of his five UFC appearances and now gets the chance to turn that momentum into a major statement in front of his home-state crowd.
Delgado comes out confidently and immediately makes Silva work. The Arizona fighter uses his striking to keep Silva at range and found success with his punches and kicks. The biggest moment came when Delgado lands a powerful right hand that drops Silva, giving the hometown fighter a strong start to the main event. Silva survives the scare but struggles to generate much offense in the opening round.
Silva opens the second round with a right hand as Delgado continues to keep him at bay with his kicks. Silva finds his timing with a couple of spinning elbows before backing Delgado toward the fence and landing a heavy cross, signaling a clear change in momentum. Silva follows with a combination before securing a takedown and landing in full guard. He connects with several heavy shots on the ground, but Delgado manages to scramble back to his feet. Silva continue pressing forward, although Delgado did a good job of maintaining his distance. Silva closed out the round with another burst of offense, landing a sharp chopping elbow from close range.
Round three begins and Silva continues applying pressure and begins forcing Delgado toward the fence. With the fight approaching the halfway point of the third round, Silva lands a powerful right hand that drops Delgado. Rather than allowing the fight to continue on the feet, Silva immediately capitalized. He moves to Delgado’s back and locked in a rear-naked choke using just one arm. Delgado had nowhere to go and was forced to tap at 2:57 of Round 3.
“This is for you guys,” Silva said to the Arizona crowd. “This is the show I bring in for you guys. No animosity from me. This is for you and you deserve this. “This message is not for the division. It’s for the next champion. Whoever holds that belt, the next champion is right here. There’s a new champion in tow.”
The victory gives Silva his second consecutive UFC win and strengthens his position in the featherweight division. Silva enters the fight at 17-3 overall and 6-1 in the UFC, while Delgado was competing in his first UFC main event after stepping in as a replacement for Yair Rodriguez. Silva now has his sights set even higher. After the victory, he made it clear that he wants to fight the winner of the upcoming Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev featherweight title fight.
