BREAKING: Dana White announces UFC Denver card headlined by Maycee Barber vs. Rose Namajunas women's flyweight bout
Maycee Barber is set to headline UFC Denver when she faces Rose Namajunas in a potential UFC women’s flyweight title eliminator. This will mark the promotion's return to Denver for the first time since 2018.
UFC CEO Dana White recently took to X and announced that the event is set to take place on July 13 at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. Barber is scheduled to face Namajunas in the main event, which is set for five rounds.
Check out Dana White's announcement below:
Barber (14-2) enters her first UFC main event on a six-fight winning run after defeating Katlyn Cerminara by unanimous decision at UFC 299 in March. With noteworthy victories over Miranda Maverick, Jessica Eye, Andrea Lee, and Amanda Ribas, 'The Future' has become a serious contender for the title.
Meanwhile, Namajunas (13-6) defeated Ribas by unanimous decision in March to snap a two-fight losing streak. 'Thug' has a 1-1 record after moving to the flyweight division. As a former UFC strawweight champion, Namajunas has triumphed over a number of well-known opponents, including Jessica Andrade, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and Zhang Weili.
The winner of this fight will likely get a shot at the victor of champion Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko, which is anticipated to happen in the fall after 'The Ultimate Fighter 32' concludes its broadcast.
White also revealed that Mike Malott will fight Gilbert Urbina, Santiago Ponzinibbio will face Muslim Salikhov and Gabriel Bonfim will face Ange Loosa.
Maycee Barber talked about her bitter history with Rose Namajunas
Maycee Barber talked candidly earlier this year about her connection with Rose Namajunas and her response to 'Thug' calling her out for a fight after defeating Amanda Ribas at UFC Vegas 89.
Namajunas spoke about knowing Barber when they were younger during the UFC Vegas 89 post-fight press conference, calling her a bully in the cage.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Barber responded to Namajunas' criticism and discussed their past.
''I think that's a great matchup for me. The only downside is that I'm fighting backwards. For the first time I can actually say fighting Rose Namajunas would be me fighting backwards in the division."
Barber added:
''We do have some history, you know. I used to train with her out here in Denver and then I fought Audrey Perkins, who was a former teammate of hers, and then I fought JJ Aldrich... It just broke her when I beat JJ. There is some bitterness there. She wants to be the one to beat me."
Check out Maycee Barber's comments below (13:25):