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By Cassandra Cousineau, LVSportsBiz.com UFC Writer
Going back 30 years, since legendary boxer Julio César Chávez stopped Meldrick Taylor at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, a fight show on The Strip has been a combat sports pillar of Mexican Independence Day weekend in Las Vegas.
In a sort of combat sports headlining switcharoo, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will instead host an MMA event being called, “Noche,” at T-Mobile Arena today.
It’s the first of its kind for the promotion, which is also celebrating its 30th year of business.
Alexa Grasso, the first Mexico-born female to win a UFC title, will defend her flyweight belt against all-time great Valentina Shevchenko in a title rematch Saturday evening.
Along with Grasso, three of the other four main-card bouts feature fighters representing Mexico, including 18-year-old Las Vegas resident Raul Rosas.
Until today, a woman has never headlined a combat event at T-Mobile Arena. The current women’s flyweight champion was born in Guadalajara Mexico, the same birthplace of boxing superstar, Canelo Álvarez.
Álvarez, the most bankable name in boxing, has anchored fight events on Mexican Independence Day weekend nine times, and five of the last six have been hosted in Las Vegas. So, it was a surprise to many that UFC grabbed the date.
Just how did that happen?
Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza referred to it as “a strange combination of factors.”
According to Espinoza, the plan was for Canelo to fight in Las Vegas on Mexican Independence Day weekend, but that fell apart when the 33-year-old’s previous promoter, Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn, failed to hold the date at T-Mobile Arena with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Per Espinoza, “As is customary, other promoters can get a second position. In this case, UFC asked for a second position. At some point, the Nevada commission contacted Canelo’s former promoter and said, ‘We just want to confirm if this is happening.’ “
NSAC confirmed to LVSportsBiz.com that it gave the date to UFC, the second position promoter for the September 16 after Matchroom failed to provide confirmation.
Canelo will be fighting Jermell Charlo at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in two weeks on Sept. 30 under his new promoter, PBC, and broadcast partner Showtime.
Lvsportsbiz.com asked Grasso if she had spoken with Canelo since the announcement of her fighting on Mexican Independence Day weekend was made.
“No, I haven’t. He is someone that I admire. I hope that with my achievement that someday I could have a training with him,” she said.
It’s been a week bookended by significant milestones for UFC. For starters, Dana White is no longer the promotion’s president on paper.
White has been named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UFC.
“I run everything that happens here. Everything that goes on here, I determine. So nothing has changed, it’s just three letters… I’m the CEO or President of the UFC now. But nothing changes. We’re just going to continue to kick ass like we do every single year.” White said about the change in job title.
White joined Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon to ring the bell to open trading at the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. Endeavor, the parent company of the Las Vegas-based MMA promotion, will be known as TKO Group Holdings, a reference to “technical knockout” in combat sports.
The company’s CEO then flew back to Las Vegas in time to hand out contracts to the newest, Dana White contender series winners that evening and kicked off a series of “Noche” related events.
In Spanish, the term, “Noche,” translates to “night” tied to the event not being a Pay-Per-View, but a typical UFC Fight Night.
When Grasso enters the octagon Saturday night, she will be wearing a custom made belt. “Tribe Belt No. 1” was made by renowned The Taller Jacobo y Maria Angele, the strap is a tribute to women icons who have conquered adversities.
UFC is committed to a presence in Mexico beyond showcasing Mexican fighters in Las Vegas. UFC plans on opening a 32,000-square-foot performance center in Mexico City by the end of the year — six years after opening its original site in Las Vegas and four years after one opened in Shanghai.
“Some of the greatest athletes in combat sports history have come from Mexico,” White said.
“Our teams at the PI are the best in the world at what they do, and we know that by making the resources and training available in the country, Mexico can become one of the greatest sources of MMA talent in the world,” the UFC bossman said. “This is a massive opportunity for the sport of MMA and for athletes throughout Latin America.”
The fights at T-Mobile Arena are on ESPN+ and begin at 7 PM PT.