Noche UFC results: Jean Silva taps Jose Delgado with one-armed choke - MMA Junkie

Jean Silva declared Saturday he'll be the next UFC champion.

Time will only tell if that holds, but Silva (18-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) took the first step toward doing that when he finished Jose Delgado (12-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) with a one-armed rear-naked choke at 2:57 of Round 3. The five-round featherweight bout served as the Noche UFC main event at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz.

Silva's win came not without adversity. Delgado bowled Silva over with a punching flurry in Round 1, but the Brazilian hung tough and slowly turned the tides. Delgado proved a game opponent, but was outclassed in the second and more so in the third. After being stunned with a punch, Delgado tried for a low single leg on Silva but ultimately had his back taken.

Silva utilized body shots to get strong position and trapped Delgado's left arm with his legs. Silva wrapped his own left arm around Delgado's neck and squeezed while also tying up Delgado's right arm with his own right arm.

After the tap, Silva got little extra physical with Delgado while getting to his feet. He then ran and scaled the cage where Hunter Campbell was sitting. He then began to chew the tape off his gloves while confused UFC and commission officials looked on. It turns out Silva just wanted to give Campbell his gloves as a symbolic promise that he will be champion.

With the win, Silva has won back-to-back bouts. The victory Saturday could align him for a shot at the winner of Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev, which headlines UFC 333 on Oct. 24 for the featherweight title.

Delgado, who stepped in on short notice for Yair Rodriguez, comes up short in his first UFC main event. He had competed in July, beating Austin Bashi by unanimous decision.