UFC Noche’s Original Venue Replaces Dana White With Maroon 5 After Multiple Delays

This month, there is no pay-per-view to watch for the UFC fans, but there is a big Fight Night event set to take place this weekend. As it has become a tradition, Dana White and Co. are returning with another edition of UFC Noche to celebrate Mexican Independence Day. However, the event seems to have gone through quite a few problems involving the venue of the show.

UFC Noche was initially set to take place in a brand new arena, the Arena Guadalajara. But it appears that, with just a few days to go before the event, Dana White and Co. had to shift to another venue, as it seems that a popular pop band has spoiled all the UFC’s plans. Let’s take a look.

Maroon 5 set to perform at Arena Guadalajara as Dana White shifts UFC Noche venue

According to a report for journalist Rodrigo Del Campo, UFC Noche will now take place in Texas, at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, and not in Mexico, as originally planned. Moreover, Dana White and Co. will not be the first people to set up an event in Arena Guadalajara, as singer-songwriter Adam Levine’s band, Maroon 5, will be performing there two and a half weeks after UFC Noche goes down.

The Arena Guadalajara was set to open back in February 2025, but that was delayed. Despite that, there was still hope that it would be ready by the time UFC Noche comes around, as some of the booked events in the arena had to be canceled. However, it appears that the 20,000-capacity venue is still not ready yet, as it was delayed once again, and that has forced Dana White and the UFC execs to move the show back to the United States, as the status of the venue was unclear.

Well, the fact that Dana White needed to look for other arenas was clear when the first news about the delay of Arena Guadalajara’s opening made the news. Originally, the event on Mexican Independence Day was supposed to be a PPV. But the relocation affected those plans as it was downgraded to a Fight Night event. Meanwhile, UFC Noche also lost a Mexican fighter from the card, who was initially slated to fight in the co-main event.

Budding prospect pulls out of UFC Noche

Raul Rosas Jr. is perhaps one of the most celebrated prospects in the UFC. As usual, he was set to pay tribute to his Mexican heritage at UFC Noche, but he suddenly pulled out not too long ago. Later, the 20-year-old fighter revealed that he had a rib injury and claimed that he was not in any shape to train with a hundred percent effort. He missed the biggest sport he’s ever found in a UFC event, but Rosas Jr. showed a positive attitude since he didn’t seem disappointed that he was forced to pull out.

“As much as I wanted this fight to prove myself against the best in the world, won’t be able to make it. Injured my rib in training when I had someone on my back with a locked body triangle, I was trying to escape by spinning away and pulled it,” Raul Rosas Jr. wrote on Instagram. “I tried to push through it, but didn’t heal & won’t fully heal in time. Barely starting to get back into normal training, so hopefully I’ll be back soon. Can’t wait to be back and earn my spot again against a top 15. Working my way up. Looking to heal soon and step back in the cage 2 more times this year.”

Dana White has been dealing with such issues since he started his gig as a promoter in the fight game. This was nothing new for the UFC CEO, as he’s found himself in such situations on more occasions than one. Regardless, let us know your thoughts on UFC Noche and the shift in venue from Mexico to the United States. Let us know in the comments down below.