Jean Silva and Tommy McMillen Steals the Spotlight at Noche UFC Ceremonial Weigh-Ins

Jean Silva will hope to avoid last year's fate at Noche UFC while Tommy McMillen puts his undefeated status on the line against Marwan Rahiki.

Jean Silva and Tommy McMillen Steals the Spotlight at Noche UFC Ceremonial Weigh-Ins

Jean Silva and Tommy McMillen at the Noche UFC ceremonial weigh-in (Image via MMA Fighting/Facebook)

Noche UFC of this year will take place in Glendale, Arizona. Featherweight contender Jean Silva will headline the event once again after losing to Diego Lopes in the main event last year. Meanwhile, rising star Tommy McMillen competes in the featured bout of the card.

The fourth annual Noche UFC event commemorating Mexico’s independence day has a stacked card involving names like Silva, McMillen, Brandon Moreno, Alexa Grasso, and Curtis Blaydes to name a few. The weigh-in ceremony brought some memorable encounters between the fighters.

McMillen takes on fellow rising star Marwan Rahiki with both of their undefeated record on the line. Meanwhile, Fighting Nerds member, Jean Silva, takes on Jose Miguel Delgado, who took the fight on short-notice after Yair Rodriguez pulled out.

McMillen is the protege of former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley. ‘Suga’ accompanied McMillen to the stage for the ceremonial weigh-in. After posing for the cameras on the scale, the rising star from Montana had ideas to mentally mess with Rahiki.

McMillen went up close for a faceoff and then tried to slap Rahiki before the security intervened. Soon, he threw a Twinkie towards the corner of Rahiki and his team while the Moroccan-born fighter’s coach chirped back. The security team made sure that there was no further escalation.

For the faceoff between the main event fighters, Jean Silva came out with skull paint on his face. The Brazilian took his time to pose for the ceremonial weigh-in, and then stalled time before facing off with Delgado. ‘Lord Silva’ repeatedly barked at this opponent while the security team remained on high alert.

Silva has a history of barking at opponents or even after winning fights. Although his tactics didn’t work with Diego Lopes last year, he has the chance to land a title shot with a win over Delgado.

Next month at UFC 333, division’s champion Alexander Volkanovski will defend his title against Movsar Evloev in the main event.

The winner of the UFC 333 main event will likely have to face Silva as there remains a lack of top contenders at featherweight.

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Tommy McMillen explains throwing a Twinkie at Marwan Rahiki’s team

McMillen and Rahiki has garnered much attention throughout the fight week of Noche UFC. Their interaction earlier in the fight week became the talking point of the fight card even more than the main event.

Marwan Rahiki and Tommy McMillen at the Noche UFC ceremonial weigh-in
Marwan Rahiki and Tommy McMillen at the Noche UFC ceremonial weigh-in (Image via X)

During that interaction, things almost got heated although the fighters held back. However, McMillen didn’t forget how Rahiki’s coach acted at that time. He explained that throwing the Twinkie during the ceremonial weigh-in was a reaction to how the coach acted previously.

I told his coach I’m gonna feed him a Twinkie so he could calm down because he pushed me the other day. So I threw a Twinkie… and hopefully he eats it so he calms down.

Tommy McMillen told Full Send MMA

It remains to be seen if McMillen can have the last laugh as Rahiki has promised revenge. One of the two undefeated fighters will lose their ‘0’, and the other moves on to bigger fights.

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Hometown hero Jose Delgado remains unfazed by Jean Silva

Noche UFC of this year will take place in the home state of Jose Delgado. He will face the toughest test of his career against Jean Silva in the main event.

Jean Silva and Jose Delgado at the Noche UFC ceremonial weigh-in
Jean Silva and Jose Delgado at the Noche UFC ceremonial weigh-in (Image via MMA Fighting)

Silva can have an intimidating presence with all of his antics. Nevertheless, Delgado clarified that none of the antics would work on him.

This is my home, you think I’m letting a Brazilian take anything from me you’re out of your mind. This is war, you don’t get anything for free. You smile and put on this mask, it doesn’t work against me.

Jose Delgado told Full Send MMA

A victory over Silva can have a huge impact for Delgado’s career. He is currently not ranked in the UFC featherweight division, but could jump into the top 10 with a win.

It remains to be seen if the Arizona native can upset the betting favorite in front of people from his home state.

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