Noche UFC fight card hit with changes as debutants save two matchups

The UFC’s Mexican Independence Day card has faced many edits since it was announced and the changes keep on coming.

In recent days, two fighters have withdrawn from Noche UFC, scheduled for Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. That’s the bad news. The good news is that replacements have been sought. Rising prospects Charlie Campbell and Marnic Mann have signed with the promotion and filled the short-notice openings.

Campbell (8-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will face Alex Reyes (13-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in a lightweight bout, replacing Natan Levy. As for Mann (6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), she replaces an injured Iasmin Lucindo and faces fellow newcomer Josefine Knutsson (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in a strawweight fight. The two bouts will kick off the preliminary portion of the card.

The Campbell vs. Reyes booking was first reported by Eurosport NL.

As he enters his promotional debut, Campbell has a resume that includes fights for Bellator, CFFC, and Dana White’s Contender Series among other banners. His fight on DWCS in 2022 was a knockout loss, but one of the most improbable in the series’ history. After he rocked Chris Duncan all over the cage, Campbell was knocked out in an all-time comeback. Since the defeat, he’s 1-0 with one TKO.

Like Campbell, Mann too lost on DWCS by knockout in 2022. While she was head kicked into defeat by Bruna Brasil in that fight, Mann reentered the win column with a unanimous decision win over Amber Brown for LFA 157 in April.

With the changes, the Noche UFC lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)

• Champion Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko – for women’s flyweight title
• Jack Della Maddalena vs. Kevin Holland
• Terrence Mitchell vs. Raul Rosas Jr.
• Christos Giagos vs. Daniel Zellhuber
• Kyle Nelson vs. Fernando Padilla

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

• Loopy Godinez vs. Elise Reed
• Josh Fremd vs. Roman Kopylov
• Edgar Chairez vs. Daniel Lacerda
• Tracy Cortez vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
• Charlie Campbell vs. Alex Reyes
• Josefine Knutsson vs. Marnic Mann

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Noche UFC.