Discover the story behind Noche UFC, an event that celebrates a special date for Mexicans

Night UFC Alexa Grasso Valentina Shevchenko

Night UFC presents rematch for the flyweight belt (Photo: Disclosure/UFC)

This Saturday (16), Ultimate returns to Las Vegas after almost a month on a 'tour' that passed through Boston, Singapore, France and Australia. However, instead of following logic and presenting the UFC Las Vegas 79, the organization named the next event with a special name: Night UFC.

'Noche' is nothing more than 'Night' in Spanish. The event gets its name because it is held on a special date for the Mexican people. September 16th marks the anniversary of the start of the war that culminated in the country's independence, 201 years ago.

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Mexican War of Independence lasted 11 years

Chosen as the date of Night UFC, September 16th marks 213 years since the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence. On the same date, in 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla starred in the 'Cry of Dolores', in the state of Guanajuato, and became the main instigator of a process of popular dissatisfaction among Mexicans with Spain, which was colonizing the country.

The process started with Father Miguel Hidalgo quickly spread throughout the rest of the territory, incorporating more and more followers. Shot in 1811, Hidalgo was replaced by fellow cleric José Morelos, who commanded the popular army until 1815, when he was also murdered.

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In total, Mexico's independence process took around 11 years and included several leaders such as Guadalupe Victoria, Vicente Guerrero and Augustín de Iturbide, who on August 24, 2021 signed, together with representatives of the Spanish crown, the Treaty of Córdoba, recognizing Mexico as an independent nation.

Noche UFC has Mexicans as protagonists and the country's only belt at stake

Alexa grasso She is the UFC flyweight champion (Photo: UFC.com)

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As it could not be otherwise, the card of Night UFC it is full of athletes from Mexico. In total, the event features five athletes born in the country and three more with Mexican ancestry.

In the main fight of the event, the flyweight champion (up to 56,7kg) Alexa grasso puts the organization's only Mexican belt at stake in an immediate rematch against the Kyrgyz-Peruvian Valentina Shevchenko.

Daniel Zellhuber, Fernando Paadilla, Lupita Godinez and Edgar Cháirez are the other athletes born in Mexico to make up the card, which also features descendants of Mexicans born in the United States Raúl Rosas Jr.., Tracy Cortez e Alex Reyes.

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Noche UFC headquarters, Nevada has a large population of Mexican origin

Despite being designed in honor of the Mexican people, the Night UFC It will be based, for logistical reasons, at the T-Mobile Arena, in Las Vegas, in the United States. This does not mean, however, that Mexico's athletes will not have massive support from the fans.

According to research by United States Census Bureau, 26,5% of the population of the state of Nevada is made up of Hispanics, the vast majority of which are Mexicans or descendants, totaling more than 677 thousand inhabitants.