DENVER, COLORADO – JULY 12: (L-R) Opponents Rose Namajunas and Tracy Cortez face off during UFC ,
The UFC is at Ball Arena for tonight’s UFC Denver fight card on ESPN. In the main event, former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas faces Tracy Cortez in a flyweight contest. In the evening’s co-headlining matchup, veteran welterweights Santiago Ponzinibbio and Muslim Salikhov meet at 170 pounds.
The main card of tonight’s UFC Denver Fight Night event begins at 10:00 PM ET on ESPN, followed by prelims at 7:00 PM ET.
Namajunas (12-6), a two-time former 115-pound titleholder under the UFC banner, moved up to flyweight in 2023 after losing the strawweight crown to Carla Esparza in May 2022. Namajunas, who is the No. 6 fighter in the official UFC women’s flyweight rankings, is 1-1 at 125 pounds. She dropped her flyweight debut by decision against Manon Fiorot in September 2023, but Namajunas bounced back from that setback with a March decision win over Amanda Ribas.
Cortez (11-1) is undefeated since losing in his MMA debut in 2017. Cortez is 5-0 under the UFC banner. He made his debut with the promotion in late 2019 after earning a contract with a win on a Dana White Contender Series card. Cortez is coming off a September decision win over Jasmine Jasudavicius. Cortez is ranked 11th in the UFC women’s flyweight division. He accepted the fight on short notice after Namajunas’ original opponent, Macy Barber, pulled out due to health reasons.
Santiago Ponzinibbio (29-7) has been with the UFC since November 2013. His best performances with the promotion came between December 2015 and November 2018 when he won seven consecutive bouts. Ponzinibbio is 2-4 since then and is coming off a knockout loss to Kevin Holland in April 2023.
Muslim Salikhov (19-5) is looking to end the only defeat of his professional career. Salikhov first fought for the UFC in November 2017. He went 5-0 between April 2018 and June 2021. Salikhov is 1-3 since then. In his two most recent fights he lost a knockout decision to Nicholas Dalby against Randy Brown. The Brown fight was his most recent visit to the Octagon, and it took place in February of this year.
UFC Denver results, winners and losers, as well as the final official scorecards will be updated live on tonight’s fight card.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 23: Rose Namajunas has her hands wrapped before her fight during the UFC ,
ufc denver champ
Charles Johnson: Charles Johnson had to fight off the aggression and speed of Joshua Vann in the first 10 minutes of their flyweight scrap. Perhaps needing a finish to win the fight, Johnson came forward quickly in the third round and scored a nasty knockout victory in the early moments of the final round.
Johnson went 1-3 in 2023 under the UFC banner. He is 3-0 with promotion in 2024.
Denver, Colorado – July 13: Charles Johnson punches Joshua Wan of Myanmar in a flyweight bout ,
Jasmine Jasudavicius: Jasmine Jasudavicius had a lot to lose when she faced much-hyped Fatima Kline on short notice on Saturday. Jasudavicius won the flyweight contest via unanimous decision.
Jasudavicius had a height and reach advantage of only one inch over his opponent. He made those advantages even more pronounced thanks to his speed, footwork, ability to control range and get to first with his attacks. Jasudavicius also found Kline struggling to get off the mat after hitting Jasudavicius on the ground.
DENVER, COLORADO – JULY 13: (R-L) Jasmine Jasudavicius of Canada punches Fatima Cline ,
Montel Jackson: Moments after a UFC commentator asked the audience to watch Montell Jackson’s punches, Jackson uncorked with a left, which likely caught Damon Blackshear coming in to throw a kick or knee. There was no need for follow-up strikes as Jackson finished the fight 18 seconds into the opening round.
With this win, Jackson is on a five-fight winning streak under the UFC banner. He has not lost since Brett Johns defeated him in 2020. Jackson has fought only once per year since 2022.
DENVER, COLORADO – JULY 13: (L-R) Montel Jackson punches Da’mon Blackshear in a bantamweight fight ,
Luana Santos: Luana Santos made things easier for herself with a submission win over Maria Agapova on Saturday in Denver. She used her striking, judo and ground skills to dominate Agapova.
Santos is 3-0 in the UFC with two stoppage wins and a five-fight winning streak overall.
DENVER, COLORADO – JULY 13: Luana Santos of Brazil {top) attempts to submit Maria Agapova ,
Andre Petroski: Andre Petroski ended a two-fight losing streak on Saturday through his wrestling skills and heavy top play on the mat. Petroski had no problems scoring early takedowns in each round en route to a decision victory over Josh Fremd. Once the fight got to the mat, Petroski patiently looked for submission opportunities while preventing Fremd from finding a way out of the ground.
The fight may not have been exciting, but with two losses any win in this one is a good win for Petroski, who said after the fight that he did not want to take a risk against Fremd.
DENVER, COLORADO – JULY 13: (RL) Andre Petroski defeated Josh Fremd in a featherweight bout ,
Ivan Elder: After a tough start to his UFC career with two losses, Evan Elder is on a two-fight win streak after submitting Darius Flowers in the opening fight on the UFC Denver card.
It was a short-notice fight, having been signed earlier this week, but Elder looked very good in defeating Flowers, who ran out of gas before the end of the first round. Elder showed good fighting intelligence in taking advantage of a compromised opponent. His striking was active and he mixed techniques and targets well.
DENVER, COLORADO – JULY 13: (L-R) Evan Elder defeats Darius Flowers in a welterweight fight ,
ufc denver losers
Joshua Wan: Joshua Van spent a good 10 minutes against Charles Johnson using his aggression and power to rack up points on the scorecards. However, Van looked unprepared to deal with Johnson as he began the third round looking for a knockout, which he got.
Fatima Kline: Two-division Cage Fury champion, 24-year-old Fatima Cline, made her UFC debut on Saturday against the more experienced Jasmine Jasudavicius. The fight was short-notified for Cline.
Kline showed no Octagon jitters in the matchup, but he struggled to lead the dance on the feet and had trouble getting off the mat after a takedown from Jasudavicius.
Cline showed heart in search of a stoppage win in the third round when she was down 2-0 on the scorecards, but couldn’t find the mark.
Kline only has seven pro fights, and coming on short notice at altitude, it’s hard to fully understand his upset. However, many respected MMA pundits feel he could find success in the UFC. It will be interesting to see what she can do with a full camp against an unseeded opponent who weighs in at 115 pounds instead of 125.
Maria Agapova: Coming back from almost two years of inactivity, Agapova had little to offer to Luana Santos, who easily defeated Agapova in the first round.
With the loss, Agapova fell to 1–4 as of August 2020. Her one win during that period was a submission in October 2021 over Sabina Mazo, who is no longer with the UFC.
Josh Fremd: Josh Fremd looked unprepared for the wrestling skills of Andre Petroski, who averaged 4.32 takedowns per minute in this matchup. His lack of takedown defense cost him dearly, as he spent almost the entire fight on his back on the mat.
Darius Flowers: Darius Flowers ran out of gas after five minutes in Denver. According to the UFC commentary team, Flowers told his team that he couldn’t breathe after the first round. Shortly thereafter, Ivan the Elder presented flowers.
Flowers did the UFC a favor by accepting this bout during fight week, but with an 0-3 record in the UFC, he may have seen his last UFC action.
UFC Denver Full Fight Card
main card
Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov
Drew Dober vs. Gene Silva
Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Lusa
Julian Erosa vs. Christian Rodriguez
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Cody Brundage
initial card
Charles Johnson defeated Joshua Vann via knockout at 0:20 of round 3 (punch from distance to the head)
Jasmine Jasudavicius defeated Fatima Kline via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Montel Jackson defeated Da’mon Blackshear via knockout at 0:18 of round 1 (punch from distance to the head)
Maria Agapova defeated Luana Santos via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:27 of round 1
Andre Petroski defeated Josh Fremd via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Evan Elder defeated Darius Flowers via submission at 1:46 of round 2 (arm triangle from side control)
UFC Denver Fight Night Bonus
ufc denver scorecard
Petroski vs. Fremd
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