UFC Denver: Rose Namajunas Vs. Tracy Cortez: Full results
UFC Denver is in the books. The event took place at the Ball Arena on July 13 and marked the UFC's first visit to the Colorado capital since Yair Rodriguez's historic KO win over Chan Sung Jung in November 2018.
While there was no insane finish this time, the event produced some memorable performances and great finishes.
In the main event, former two-time UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas fought Tracy Cortez to further her quest for the flyweight title shot. 'Thug' is currently the No.7-ranked UFC flyweight contender and held a 1-1 record since moving up to the weight class.
Meanwhile, Cortez was undefeated in her five-fight UFC career. She stepped up to fight after Namajunas' original opponent, Maycee Barber, was forced to withdraw due to health issues.
Heading into the fight, Namajunas was the more experienced fighter in elite-level competition. The difference was evident from the get-go as Namajunas dictated the striking exchanges with straight punches that found the mark quicker than the looping punches of Cortez. She also scored the only knockdown of the fight in Round 1 that set the tone for the rest of the contest.
'Thug' also proved to be the better grappler and won most of the grappling exchanges. To her credit, Cortez survived on the ground and continued to offer resistance without slowing down. But her efforts could not disrupt Namajunas' calculated attacks as she cruised to a comfortable unanimous decision victory.
In the co-headlining bout, veteran welterweight fighters Santiago Ponzinibbio and Muslim Salikhov fought to get back in the win column. Both men had their moments in the tactical three-round fight and Salikhov emerged as the winner on two of the three judges' scorecards. The victory snapped his two-fight skid.
This was the fifth loss of Ponzinibbio's professional MMA career since he capped an impressive seven-fight win streak with a fourth-round TKO of Neil Magny in November 2018. The Argentine fighter lost the better part of his prime to lingering health issues after the win and hasn't been able to recreate the success since returning to competition in January 2021.
UFC Denver main card: Drew Dober and Jean Silva put on a war, Gabriel Bonfim gets back in the win column
A fan-favorite fighter with an exciting fighting style, Drew Dober fought Jean Silva on the main card. Silva stepped up for the fight after Dober's original opponent, Mike Davis, had to withdraw due to injury two weeks before the event.
Silva refused to engage with Dober's brawling style. He focused on inflicting damage with effective counters, bloodying up and coming dangerously close to finishing Dober a couple of times.
A gnarly cut above Dober’s eyebrow got increasingly worse as the fight progressed, prompting the doctor to stop the bout in Round 3. This was Silva's second T/KO win in two weeks. He finished Charles Jourdain by strikes at UFC 303.
Highly touted welterweight prospect Gabriel Bonfim fought Ange Loosa in a main card bout. Bonfim, a 'Dana White Contender Series' standout, gained popularity for impressive submissions. The fight against Loosa marked Bonfim's first appearance since his TKO loss against Nicolas Dalby in November 2023.
Loosa started the fight aggressively but could not get the better of Bonfim in either striking or grappling. While both men have shown the tendency to slow down in the later rounds, Bonfim managed his energy better and edged past Loosa to secure a unanimous decision victory.
After training at Brasilia-based Cerrado MMA for the majority of their careers, Gabriel and his brother Ismael opened their gym, Bonfim Brothers, following recent losses. The UFC Denver victory marked Bonfim's first competitive appearance since opening the gym.
Featherweight contenders Julian Erosa and Christian Rodriguez fought an exciting one-rounder in another main card bout. There was no feeling out process as both men started trading shots from the opening bell.
Erosa secured a takedown a few minutes in and started working on submissions. Rodriguez flipped him over and succumbed to a tight guillotine in the closing seconds of the first round as he tried to get top position.
In the main card opening bout, Abdul Razak Alhassan appeared to be dominating Cody Brundage in the early going of the fight. Alhassan thwarted an early takedown attempt and started pummelling Brundage with vicious punches and elbows to the head.
After a few elbows hit the back of Brundage's head accidentally, the referee stepped in to halt the action. Brundage could not recover and the fight resulted in a no-contest.
UFC Denver prelims: Charles Johnson and Montel Jackson deliver knockouts
Cards that appear weak on paper usually deliver the best entertainment. UFC Denver prelims stand testimony to this.
In the headlining bout, Charles Johnson defeated Joshua Van by an impressive third-round knockout. After relatively close two rounds, Johnson put Von on shaky legs with a looping right hand and sealed the victory with a follow-up uppercut.
Meanwhile, surging bantamweight Montel Jackson delivered a second straight first-round knockout against Da'Mon Blackshear to extend his win streak to five. 'Quick' dropped Blackshear with a tight left hand, finishing the fight at the 18-second mark of Round 1.
Rising women's flyweight Luana Santos defeated Mariya Agapova by rear-naked choke to score her third UFC win. In another women's flyweight contest, Jasmine Jasudavicius outpointed Fatima Kline to earn a convincing unanimous decision victory.
Andre Petroski controlled Josh Fremd on the ground for the majority of the three-round contest with superior wrestling. Fremd came out aggressively and tried to earn a finish in the third round. However, Petroski weathered the initial onslaught and cruised his way to a unanimous decision victory.
In the first fight of the night, Evan Elder finished Darrius Flowers by second-round submission to score his second straight win in the UFC after starting his stint with two back-to-back losses.
Check out the full event results below:
Main card
Women's flyweight - Rose Namajunas def. Tracy Cortez by unanimous decision (49-46 X 2, 48-47)
Welterweight - Muslim Salikhov def. Santiago Ponzinibbio by split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Lightweight - Jean Silva def. Drew Dober by T/KO (Doctor's stoppage) (R3, 1:28)
Welterweight - Gabriel Bonfim def. Ange Loosa by unanimous decision (30-27 X 2, 29-28)
Featherweight - Julian Erosa def. Christian Rodriguez by submission (Guillotine choke) (R1, 4:49)
Middleweight - Abdul Razak Alhassan Vs. Cody Brundage ends in No Contest
Preliminary card
Flyweight - Charles Johnson def. Joshua Van by T/KO (R3, 0:20)
Women's flyweight - Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Fatima Kline by unanimous decision (30-27 X 3)
Bantamweight - Montel Jackson def. Da'Mon Blackshear by T/KO (R1, 0:18)
Women's flyweight - Luana Santos def. Mariya Agapova by submission (Rear-naked choke) (R1, 3:27)
Middleweight - Andre Petroski def. Josh Fremd by unanimous decision (30-27 X 3)
Welterweight - Evan Elder def. Darrius Flowers by submission (Arm-triangle) (R2, 1:46)