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DraftKings MMA, UFC DFS Lineup Picks - Noche UFC 3: Lopes vs. Silva on 9/13/25. Alen's MMA DFS analysis to build winning daily fantasy UFC lineups.
The third annual installment of Noche UFC takes place this Saturday at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. The event will mark the promotion's fourth visit to San Antonio and first since UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Sandhagen in March 2023. The card was originally expected to take place in Guadalajara, Mexico, and serve as UFC 320, but it was moved to San Antonio due to the construction of Arena Guadalajara being stalled. Although the Noche UFC 3 card doesn't have as much star power as last year's Noche UFC, this is still a solid card with an intriguing main event.
Headlining the card are dynamic Brazilian fighters Diego Lopes, who fought for a title in his last bout, and Jean Silva, who is undefeated in the UFC. The co-main event of Noche UFC 3 features a bantamweight fight between UFC veteran Rob Font and David Martinez, who stepped up on short notice to replace Raul Rosas Jr.
To open up the Noche UFC 3 main card, we have Santiago Luna taking on Quang Le. Also on the main card, lightweights Alexander Hernandez and Carlos Diego Ferreira are set for a three-round bout, followed by a middleweight bout between Kelvin Gastelum and Dustin Stoltzfus.
In this article, I will be providing you with my fantasy MMA lineup picks for Noche UFC 3: Lopes vs. Silva on 9/13/25. Give me a follow on X @sumpor5. Good luck!
DraftKings MMA Featherweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Diego Lopes, $7.0K - vs. Jean Silva
Featherweights Lopes and Silva are scheduled for a five-round main event of Noche UFC 3 on Saturday. Lopes will look to get back in the win column while Silva looks to remain undefeated in the UFC.
Any time, any place, against anyone 🗣️@DiegoLopesMMA has proven himself to fight the best over his UFC career, and is ready for another test this weekend!
[ #NocheUFC | Saturday at 6pmET on the @ESPN app ] pic.twitter.com/FuqX6DPBYy
— UFC (@ufc) September 12, 2025
Lopes joined the UFC in May 2023, making his promotional debut against Movsar Evloev, which ended in a decision loss. Since then, he has fought six times. Lopes was last seen in action in April at UFC 314, where he fought featherweight GOAT Alexander Volkanovski for the vacant UFC Featherweight Championship.
It was an exciting fight, after which the fighters received 'Fight of the Night' honors, but it was Volkanovski who walked out victorious, defeating Lopes via unanimous decision. Prior to his title fight, Lopes was on a five-fight winning streak, with stoppages of Sodiq Yusuff, Pat Sabatini, and Gavin Tucker, plus decisions over Dan Ige and former title challenger Brian Ortega.
Since he joined UFC back in 2023, Silva has been on a tear, not only going 5-0, but finishing every fighter UFC has put in front of him. He earned the UFC contract by defeating Kevin Vallejos via unanimous decision on Dana White's Contender Series. His UFC debut against Westin Wilson ended in a first-round TKO victory for Silva.
He was last seen in action in April at UFC 314, where he finished Bryce Mitchell via second-round ninja choke submission. Known for his precision and knockout power, Silva has knocked out 12 out of his 18 opponents. It should also be mentioned that Silva hasn’t lost since 2018 and has won 13 straight.
Lopes enters this fight with an MMA record of 26-7 and 5-2 in the UFC. He is averaging 3.70 significant strikes and has a striking accuracy of 47%. Lopes absorbs 4.76 significant strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 46%. Regarding his grappling, Lopes is averaging just 0.35 takedowns every 15 minutes, but 1.9 submission attempts during the same period. He has a takedown accuracy of 40% and a takedown defense of 67%.
Silva enters this fight with an MMA record of 16-2 and 5-0 in the UFC. He is averaging 4.87 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 52%. Silva absorbs 4.13 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 56%. Regarding his grappling, Silva is averaging 0.60 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 50% and a takedown defense of 86%.
Although Silva is a huge favorite, I'm going with Lopes on this one. Silva has incredible accuracy and knockout power, and Lopes, although he gets hit a lot, has a granite chin. Lopes has also displayed a solid all-around game and a solid gas tank, while Silva hasn't yet, as he's been finishing people usually in the first or the second round.
I don't think Silva will be able to put Lopes out early, and if this fight goes the distance, which I think it will, my prediction is that Lopes will win via unanimous decision.
DraftKings MMA Middleweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Kelvin Gastelum, $9.0K - vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
Gastelum is scheduled to face off against Stoltzfus on the main card of Noche UFC 3 on Saturday. Both fighters have been alternating wins and losses, and both are looking to return to the win column.
FIRST. ROUND. FINISH.@KelvinGastelum puts away a legend in SPECTACULAR fashion at #UFCFortaleza! pic.twitter.com/b0E8AFBHZ0
— UFC (@ufc) March 12, 2017
Once thought of as the next welterweight champion, Gastelum hasn't been in the best shape for years. Gastelum has been inconsistent for years, alternating wins and losses. His UFC career has been turbulent to say the least, full of ups and downs.
Gastelum became the Ultimate Fighter 17 champion at just 21, but since then, he missed weight four times, had two USADA suspensions for marijuana violations, a motorcycle accident in Thailand, and multiple staph infections that forced him to pull out of the fights.
Known for his boxing and knockout power, it's evident that Gastelum's weakness is his defensive grappling, but now, he's training alongside Olympic wrestler Pat Downey in hopes of sharpening his grappling.
Just like Gastelum, Stoltzfus has been wildly inconsistent throughout his UFC career. He signed with the promotion in 2020 after defeating Joe Pyfer on Dana White's Contender Series, but the first few UFC fights went horribly for Stoltzfus, as he went 0-3 in his first three fights in the promotion.
Since then, he's been alternating wins and losses, going 3-3 in his last six bouts. Stoltzfus is a well-rounded fighter who can mix up striking and grappling effectively, but he lacks knockout power and has been hurt badly on plenty of occasions.
Gastelum enters this fight with an MMA record of 19-10 with one NC and 13-10 with one NC in the UFC. He is averaging 3.67 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 42%. Gastelum absorbs 3.49 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 57%. His grappling is decent, averaging 1.05 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 34% and a takedown defense of 58%.
Stoltzfus enters this fight with an MMA record of 16-7 and 3-6 in the UFC. He averages 3.14 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 45%. Stoltzfus absorbs 3.14 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 47%. His grappling has also been solid, averaging 2.26 takedowns every 15 minutes and 1.3 submission attempts during the same period. Stoltzfus has a takedown accuracy of 41% and a takedown defense of 46%.
Gastelum is in dire need of a win, and I think he's going to pull it off. His weakness is his grappling, while grappling is Stoltzfus' strength. Key to victory for Stoltzfus is getting Gastelum down and submitting him, but that's easier said than done. In his pursuit of a takedown, Stoltzfus will have to eat some of Gastelum's punches, and I don't think Stoltzfus is as durable as Gastelum.
We've seen him getting wobbled and finished time and time again, and my prediction is that Gastelum will knock Stoltzfus out either in the second or the third round.
DraftKings MMA Women's Strawweight - UFC DFS Lineup Picks
Tatiana Suarez, $9.4K - vs. Amanda Lemos
On Saturday's Noche UFC 3, Tatiana Suarez is scheduled to face off against Amanda Lemos. Suarez will look to get back in the win column after suffering her first loss, while Lemos looks to win back-to-back fights.
She's DIFFERENT when the fight hits the canvas 😤@TatianaUFC has her sights on another show stopping performance at Noche UFC!
[ SAT Sep 13 | 6pmET LIVE on the @ESPN app ] pic.twitter.com/sUdImcfsGZ
— UFC (@ufc) September 9, 2025
Once considered the boogeywoman of the strawweight division, Suarez has lost a bit of that aura after losing her last fight, which was also a title fight. Suarez was last seen in action in February at UFC 312, where she was dominated and lost by unanimous decision to the women's strawweight champion, Weili Zhang. Prior to her first loss, Suarez was undefeated, having gone 10-0 in her pro career.
Before suffering her first loss, Suarez defeated the former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade via second-round submission. Known for her wrestling, Suarez has dominated and defeated former champions like Alexa Grasso, Carla Esparza, and, already mentioned, Andrade.
After Zhang reclaimed her title by beating former champion Esparza, her first title defense was against Lemos. It was a dominant performance by Zhang, who won via unanimous decision. Lemos has since bounced back with a unanimous decision victory over Mackenzie Dern.
Lemos got submitted in her next fight by Virna Jandiroba, but she managed to bounce back in her last fight at UFC 313 by defeating Iasmin Lucindo by unanimous decision. As it stands, Lemos is ranked fourth in the strawweight rankings, which is one spot below Suarez.
Suarez enters this fight with an MMA record of 10-1 and 7-1 in the UFC. She averages 3.22 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 61%. Suarez absorbs 1.58 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 47%. Regarding her wrestling, Suarez is averaging 4.65 takedowns every 15 minutes. Suarez has a takedown accuracy of 47% and a takedown defense of 80%.
Lemos enters this fight with an MMA record of 15-4-1 and 9-4 in the UFC. She is averaging 2.89 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 54%. Lemos absorbs 3.46 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 44%. Regarding her grappling, Lemos is averaging 1.14 takedowns every 15 minutes. She has a takedown accuracy of 62% and a takedown defense of 59%.
Styles make fights, and Suarez is a terrible matchup for Lemos. Once she gets opponents on the ground, her top control and submission prowess shine. This is a good rebound fight for Suarez to use her wrestling to out-grapple Lemos, and I think she'll do just that. My prediction is that Suarez will take Lemos down, possibly multiple times, and then submit her either in the first or the second round.
