For the first time since 2018, the UFC returned to Denver with a Fight Night card on July 13 featuring local fighter Rose Namajunas and short-notice challenger Tracy Cortez.
Namajunas, a former two-time strawweight champion, was competing at flyweight for the third time since moving up to the 125-pound division in 2023. Namajunas was scheduled to face rising contender Maycee Barber at the event but ended up in a matchup with Cortez after Barber withdrew from the fight due to ongoing health concerns.
Rose Namajunas Picks Apart Tracy Cortez at UFC Denver
THUG ROSE 🌹@RoseNamajunas takes the UD in front of the home crowd! #UFCDenver pic.twitter.com/mAxZp8Keql
— UFC (@ufc) July 14, 2024
Though Tracy Cortez was competitive at times, Rose Namajunas had little issue getting her hand raised at UFC Denver. The fight would last all 25 minutes despite Namajunas landing a knockdown in the first round with the 32-year-old earning a unanimous decision victory.
Cortez’s cardio impressively held up for five rounds in the Denver elevation but she did not have the striking to compete with Namajunas on short notice. Overall, ESPN recorded Namajunas landing 96 significant strikes to just 58 from Cortez while the former champion also completed five takedowns for over six minutes of control time.
Despite being the better grappler on paper, Cortez could not find much-grappling success against ‘Thug Rose,’ landing just two of her five attempted takedowns for less than one minute of combined control time. As the underdog, Cortez was often the fighter pushing forward once she fell behind on the scorecards but was often taken down by Namajunas as soon as she backed her up against the fence.
Rose Namajunas’ First Win Streak Since 2021
The win ended a rough stretch for Rose Namajunas, giving her consecutive victories for the first time since 2021. Namajunas had not won back-to-back fights since knocking off Zhang Weili twice in 2021 while serving as the strawweight champion.
In the time since her second win over Weili, Namajunas lost her title disappointingly to Carla Esparza before declaring that she would leave the division to pursue a career at flyweight. The fan favorite would lose her 125-pound debut to Manon Fiorot in September 2023 before bouncing back with a win over Amanda Ribas in the main event of UFC Vegas 89.
Namajunas’ win over Tracy Cortez at UFC Denver came four months after her win over Ribas to give her meaningful momentum in the division.
End of an 11-Fight Win Streak
For Tracy Cortez, the loss marked the end of her 11-fight win streak that lasted for nearly seven years. Before meeting Rose Namajunas at UFC Denver, the 30-year-old had not lost since being submitted by Cheri Muraski in her professional debut in 2017.
Of Cortez’s 11 consecutive wins, five were in the UFC after she won a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series. At the time of the fight, Cortez owned a No. 11 ranking in the UFC women’s flyweight division after her statement win over Jasmine Jasudavicius at Noche UFC 2023.
What Comes Next for Rose Namajunas?
After her win at UFC Denver, Rose Namajunas called for a title shot in the flyweight division. Her wish appears unlikely to be granted with champion Alexa Grasso and top contender Valentina Shevchenko expected to headline the 2024 edition of Noche UFC in September.
Namajunas provided a second option in her callout, asking the UFC to put her in a female ‘BMF’ title fight. Fans have long pondered the potential of a female BMF belt given the success of the original but the UFC has shown no interest in the idea to this point.
Maycee Barber, the original opponent of Namajunas for the event sat cage-side at UFC Denver but did not receive a callout from Namajunas. A re-booking with Barber would seem to be on the horizon for Namajunas, though the fighter still has an ongoing rivalry with No. 5 ranked flyweight contender Jessica Andrade.
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