The denizens of the Mile High City get the honors of playing host to the UFC this weekend, with local former champ Rose Namajunas (ranked #6) in a headliner against flyweight dynamo Tracy Cortez (ranked #11).
Namajunas (12-6) seems to have had some struggles as of late, especially with that very strange bout against Carla Esparza in which she lost her strawweight title. upon moving up to 125lbs immediately after that, she struggled against French threat Manon Fiorot in a decision loss. While she finally was back in the win column with a win over Amanda Ribas, it’s not unreasonable to wonder if we’re seeing some decline in her overall game.
On the other hand, Cortez struggled to make weight and did so after an emotional ordeal in which she had to cut her hair. It’s been a tough road since Cortez was scheduled to fight next week, but she is stepping in for Rose’s original opponent Maycee Barber. She only lost by submission once in what was her pro debut against Cheri Muraski way back in 2017, and looks to continue her undefeated UFC run and to break into the top ten with a win here.
But there’s some other good stuff on this card. Muslim Salikhov faces Santiago Ponzinibbio, and blazing Brazilian prospect Jean Silva meets Drew Dober. Joshua Van has been a breath of fresh air, and he’s got a stiff test against Charles Johnson at flyweight.
There’s some… less interesting stuff here that the Denver crowd will have to pay a hefty ticket fee to watch, but at least it’s not an Apex card. Listen as we try to be as kind as possible with what’s on offer and genuinely hyped for some actually great fights. Download, listen, enjoy, and be ready to give Mick Maynard a pat on the head for doing a not-bad job this time. Sean Shelby can get a pat too.
Let’s take a look at the bouts and some fun factoids:
UFC Denver
* Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez 125 lbs
* Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov 170 lbs
* Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva 155 lbs
* Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Loosa 170 lbs
* Christian Rodriguez vs. Julian Erosa 145 lbs
* Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan 185 lbs
* Joshua Van vs. Charles Johnson 125 lbs
* Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Fatima Kline 125 lbs
* Montel Jackson vs. Da’Mon Blackshear 135 lbs
* Luana Santos vs. Mariya Agapova 125 lbs
* Josh Fremd vs. Andre Petroski 185 lbs
* Evan Elder vs. Darrius Flowers 170 lbs
UFC Denver Fun Factoids
* Ranked fights: 1
* Ranked fighters: 3
* Fighters coming off losses: 11 + 1 NC
* Contender Series alumni: 9
* TUF alumni: 5
* Debuting fighters: 1
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