The UFC swings back into action on Saturday, July 13. The promotion heads to Ball Arena in Denver, CO, where former two-time UFC Strawweight champion Rose Namajunas will continue her quest for flyweight gold when she faces No. 11 ranked Tracy Cortez in the main event.
In the co-main event, longtime contender Santiago Ponzinibbio will take on Muslim Salikhov. Here is the viewing information for the entire card.
Main Card – 10 p.m. ET
- Main Event – Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez
- Co-Main Event – Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov
- Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva
- Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Loosa
- Julian Erosa vs. Christian Rodriguez
- Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Cody Brundage
Prelims – 7 p.m.
- Joshua Van vs. Charles Johnson
- Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Fatima Kline
- Montel Jackson vs. Da’Mon Blackshear
- Luana Santos vs. Mariya Agapova
- Josh Fremd vs. Andre Petroski
- Evan Elder vs. Darrius Flowers
There are levels within the levels when it comes to UFC events. There are huge pay-per-view events like UFC 300 and the monstrosity that is taking shape for Noche UFC in September at the Las Vegas Sphere, and then there are smaller ones like UFC 301.
Sure, Alexandre Pantoja defended his UFC men’s flyweight title in the main event, but no one is mistakenly assuming that event was a show as big as the pay-per-view that preceded it. The same can be said for the Fight Night and Apex shows.
The one in Denver is an upper-echelon Fight Night event. Initially, Namajunas was set to face top flyweight contender Maycee Barber, but the latter had to pull out due to an injury. Cortez is a solid replacement, and the rest of the card fits the bill to make for a strong Fight Night.
Namajunas is probably two or three wins away from securing a title shot at flyweight. This current run could be her last as a serious title contender in the UFC. That makes this push a little more special because she’s likely a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer when she hangs up the gloves.
Cortez is a magnetic star with an impressive 11-1 professional record. Grabbing a win over Namajunas would do wonders for her career moving forward and perhaps set her up for a fight with someone on the cusp of a title shot. In addition to Ponzinibbio-Salikhov, Dober-Silva could easily win the fight of the night honors.
Silva hits like a truck, as we saw in his last fight, a TKO win over Charles Jourdain at UFC 303 two weeks ago. Silva missed weight for that fight, so he’s a proper sport, returning on two weeks’ rest to face Dober.
We’ll also see the return of the dynamic Gabriel Bonfim. The uber-talented Brazilian had his hype train derailed in his last fight, a loss to Nicholas Dalby. Bonfim was dominating that fight, but he ran out of gas and was finished by the grizzled veteran in the second round. Bonfim will be looking to rebound with a win over Ange Loosa.
The card also has the exciting and athletic Abdul Razak Alhassan taking on Cody Brundage and potential flyweight title contender Joshua Van in action vs. Charles Johnson. Is this a mainstream, commercial hit, sort of a UFC show?
No, but the lineup could give viewers a good preview into the next set of fighters with a chance to make some noise in their divisions.
