DENVER — In a true display of well-rounded mixed martial arts, Namajunas secures a unanimous decision win over Cortez after a hard-fought five rounds.
This fight comes on just three weeks notice, when No. 11 flyweight Tracy Cortez agreed to take on No. 6 ranked, and former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas after her original opponent, Maycee Barber, was forced to withdraw from their bout due to illness.
Namajunas displayed her technical prowess throughout the five rounds by dominating Cortez in most of the striking exchanges, but also effectively nullifying most of her wrestling also — an area where Cortez tends to find her most success. However, despite the apparent skill gap Cortez held her own throughout most of the fight, finding varied success in long combinations and timed counterstrikes. However, these moments were not impactful enough to sway the judges’ scorecards, who scored the fight 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 for Namajunas.
In her post-fight speech, Namajunas expressed her love for the city of Denver, as well as her aspirations for flyweight gold.
“Denver has been so good to me for so many years, when I’m here I can just sort of breathe.”
“Give me the belt man, I want it. I’m Colorado’s first UFC champion, so I want to bring the second one back here. Either that or a women’s BMF — I don’t know."
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Namajunas and Cortez share respects after their fight.
Other notable wins from tonight’s card include a split-decision win by Muslim Salikhov, who despite being one of the oldest fighters on the UFC roster at the age of forty, demonstrated a sharp display of kickboxing fundamentals in his fight against Santiago Ponzinibbio. Additionally, featherweight Jean Silva moved up to lightweight tonight in a short notice bout against Drew Dober, and ultimately claimed a victory by a third round TKO via a doctor’s stoppage.
Next week, the UFC will return to the UFC APEX for a Fight Night card headlined by Amanda Lemos and Virna Jandiroba.