Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is in Denver, Colo., to stage UFC Denver later TONIGHT (Sat., July 13, 2024) inside Ball Arena, featuring a women’s Flyweight fight between Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez. In the co-main event, Santiago Ponzinibbio will battle Muslim Salikhov at Welterweight.
What’s Hot:
Namajunas — a former two-time women’s Strawweight champion — stumbled in her Flyweight debut, losing to Manon Fiorot via unanimous decision. That really put a damper on her chances of securing a title shot straight away. She did bounce back with a dominant win over Amanda Ribas, but she will need at least one more victory before she gets title consideration. That will have to come against Cortez, who is looking to make the most of her opportunity to fill the void after filling in for an injured Maycee Barber, which just so happens to be Cortez’ first-ever headlining bout. And that’s pretty hard to believe because she has been nothing short of impressive, winning five straight inside the Octagon, pushing her win streak to 11 in a row. In fact, her lone loss is a defeat in her mixed martial arts (MMA) debut way back in 2017. While she did miss weight on her first attempt, she made a sacrifice of chopping off some of her hair to make weight.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Namajunas’ resume speaks for itself. She has taken on — and defeated — some of the best the game has to offer such as Joanna Jedrzejczyk (twice), Zhang Weili (twice), Michelle Waterson, Paige VanZant and Jessica Andrade. She’s been in the game for some time now, and she has no plans of slowing down. But, when facing off against a younger — and perhaps hungrier — fighter out to make a name for herself in the biggest fight of her career, keeping your head on a swivel is a must. During her win streak, Cortez only has two finishes, so there’s a knock on her that she isn’t aggressive enough. That said, she is racking up the wins so whatever she is doing is working. With a win, she jumps into the Top 5 and her championship dreams start getting closer. For “Thug Rose,” stopping Cortez’s momentum puts her back int the title picture, while a loss may smash that dream for good.
What’s Not:
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Opening up the main card is a Middleweight bout between Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Cody Brundage. Alhassan has simply not been consistent during his time with the promotion, securing an even (6-6) record. He is just 2-4 in his last six, so a loss here could put him on the chopping block. As for Brundage, he hasn’t exactly been lighting it up, either, since he is also 2-4 in his last six bouts. Why the promotion felt the need to squeeze this on the main card as the sixth fight is beyond me. Put them on the “Prelims” where they belong and have them work their way back up.
Original Card Vs. Actual Card:
The original headlining act was supposed to feature Namajunas facing off against Barber before “The Future” was forced out of the fight for undisclosed reasons. That paved the way for Cortez to fill the void on two weeks notice. Marquel Mederos was in line to face Nazim Sadykhov after replacing Chris Duncan, but was forced out of the bout and Sadykhov was removed from the event altogether.
Injuries:
Mike Davis was in line to go toe-to-to against Dober in a Lightweight affair, but was forced out of the fight with a torn biceps muscle (watch it). Stepping in to fill the void is Silva, who is fresh off a first round knockout win over Charles Jourdain just two weeks ago. This is the chance for Silva to up his win streak 10. As for Dober, the hard-hitting 155-pound juggernaut is out to right his ship after losing two of his last three fights inside the Octagon, including his most recent loss at the hands of Renato Moicano.
New Blood:
Fatima Kline is the lone newcomer at this event and will bring her undefeated record (6-0) to the Octagon for the first time to face off against Jasmine Jasudavicius in a women’s Flyweight bout. Kline is a former Invicta FC fighter with three stoppage wins on her resume. As for Jasudavicius, she recovered from her loss to event headliner (Cortez) by defeating Priscila Cachoeira in her return bout.
UFC DENVER CHEAT SHEET
What UFC event is on tonight? UFC Denver: “Namajunas vs. Cortez”
Who is fighting tonight at UFC Denver? Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez women’s Flyweight fight is the five-round main event.
What time does UFC Denver? TONIGHT (Sat., July 13, 2024), beginning at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+.
Where will UFC Denver take place? Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
How can I watch UFC Denver? ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” card matchups are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance (also on ESPN/ESPN+) at 10 p.m. ET.
How do I bet on UFC Denver? Check out the latest lines at DraftKings.com.
Where can I get UFC Denver updates and results? Get full UFC Denver play-by-play updates and live coverage here!
How The ‘Prelims’ Look:
Headlining the undercard is a Flyweight fight between Joshua Van vs. Charles Johnson. Van is scorching hot at the moment after winning eight straight fights, which includes going perfect (3-0) inside the Octagon. He was last seen knocking out Felipe Burns at the start of the year, so his confidence is at an all-time high. Out to stop his streak is Johnson, winner of two straight. Prior to his back-to-back victories, “Inner G” was on a three-fight losing streak, so something switched to get him on track.
In Bantamweight action, Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Montel Jackson will throw down in what should be a great, competitive fight. Jackson is currently on a four-fight win streak and is 7-2 overall inside the Octagon, so he is knocking on the door of a ranking spot. Perhaps a win over Jackson would put him over the edge.
In further women’s Flyweight action, Luana Santos will do battle against Mariya Agapova. Santos is currently on a four-fight win streak with a record of 7-1. She is undefeated (2-0) under the UFC banner and is out to hand Agapova her third straight loss. With a record of 1-3 inside the Octagon over her last four fights, she is in a must-win situation.
In a battle of hard-hitting 185-pound contenders, Josh Fremd and Andre Petroski are out to get back into the win column after crushing losses in their previous fights. Fremd was knocked out by Roman Kopylov in Sept. 2023, while Petroski was stopped with an barrage of strikes from Jacob Malkoun. That was actually his second straight defeat, previously losing to Michel Pereira via unanimous decision.
Who Needs A Win Badly:
After coming into Contender Series with three straight wins (two via knockout), Darrius Flowers impressed by scoring a first round knockout win via slam to earn himself a contract. His first two official fights inside the Octagon, however, have not gone according to his plans. He lost his debut fight via submission to Jake Matthews, and then went on to lose a unanimous decision to Michael Johnson four months ago. Now, he is out to earn his first UFC win when he takes on Evan Elder, who recently snapped his two fight win streak and secured his first UFC win by defeating Genaro Valdez more than one year ago. If Flowers loses his third straight, it could be the end of the UFC road for him before getting a chance to shine.
Interest Level:
In the co-main event, Ponzinibbio will attempt to get back into the win column after suffering a knockout loss at the hands of Kevin Holland at UFC 287, which was 15 months ago. “Gente Boa” was at one time considered a potential title contender after racking up seven straight wins, but has had a steady decline, losing three of his last four fights, including his most recent defeat to “Trailblazer.” He will be taking on a man in Salikhov, who is also 1-3 in his last four fights. He has lost two straight fights, so he needs a win badly here in order to avoid the chopping block.
Gabriel Bonfim saw his incredible 15-fight win streak — which took 10 years to put together — up in smoke after getting knocked out by Nicolas Dalby in Nov. 2023. Now, he is out to erase that horrible taste in the mouth that is new to him when he goes to war against the always-dangerous, Ange Loosa, who saw his two-fight win streak come to a pause after his fight against Bryan Battle resulted in a “No Contest” because of an inadvertent eye poke.
Julian Erosa started his second round with the promotion with a 5-1 start before going on a two-fight losing streak. He bounced back nicely with a win over Ricardo Ramos, forcing him to tap guillotine choke earlier this year. He is out for his second straight win against Christian Rodriguez, who is enjoying an impressive four-fight win streak after stumbling out of the gates with a loss in his UFC debut.
Enjoy the fights!
Full UFC Denver Fight Card:
UFC Denver Main Event On ESPN/ESPN+:
125 lbs.: Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez (not Maycee Barber)
UFC Denver Main Card on ESPN/ESPN+ (10 p.m. ET):
170 lbs.: Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov
155 lbs.: Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva
170 lbs.: Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Loosa
145 lbs.: Julian Erosa vs. Christian Rodriguez
185 lbs.: Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Cody Brundage
UFC Denver ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN/ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):
125 lbs.: Charles Johnson vs. Joshua Van
125 lbs.: Fatima Kline vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
135 lbs.: Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Montel Jackson
125 lbs.: Luana Santos vs. Mariya Agapova
185 lbs.: Josh Fremd vs. Andre Petroski
170 lbs.: Evan Elder vs. Darrius Flowers
*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Denver fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 7 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN/ESPN+ main card start time at 10 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Denver news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archives here and here. For the updated and finalized “Namajunas vs. Cortez” fight card and ESPN/ESPN+ line up click here.
