As Lopes handed his flags to his team, Silva was already staring at his opponent from across the stage. Lopes and Silva locked eyes for a minute and 14 seconds, both men refusing to break eye contact despite security holding them back and Brendan Fitzgerald interviewing Silva.

Despite his incredible success since joining the UFC, Lopes currently finds himself lined as a sizeable underdog heading into Noche UFC. Silva is currently on a 13-fight win streak dating back to 2018, which includes five-straight finishes in the UFC since joining the promotion off of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Diego Lopes is launching a non-profit youth jiu-jitsu academy in Mexico to support underprivileged kids 🙌🫡 (via @ufc ) pic.twitter.com/hYGnLLPuJv

The Brazilian fighter is preparing to main event Noche UFC 3, off the back of a devastating title defeat at the hands of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314. Volkanovski beat him over five rounds to take home the vacant UFC Featherweight championship and end Diego Lopes’s title hopes on his first time challenging for the belt.