This past Saturday night in the main event of UFC Denver, we saw a very fun matchup in the women’s flyweight division. Former strawweight champion “Thug” Rose Namajunas (13-6) was looking for her second straight win at 125 pounds as she was taking on Tracy Cortez (11-2) who was looking for her 12th straight victory.
One thing I thought we’d see in the matchup is Cortez have some grappling success while Namajunas controlled the striking. Well, throughout the first three rounds, it was very apparent that these two were on completely different levels. Namajunas dropped Cortez in the first round and really never relinquished control.
While Namajunas had her foot on the gas, she controlled the fight wherever it went. That said, Tracy Cortez showed a ton of heart at UFC Denver. In the final round, she knew she needed a finish and she went for it. She channeled her inner Max Holloway and pointed to the ground to try and get Namajunas to stand and trade.
Namajunas let up a little in the final couple of rounds and Cortez went all out which did win her the final round on all three scorecards. However, it wasn’t enough in the end and Rose Namajunas picked up the big win.
What’s next after UFC Denver?
Following the win, Namajunas said that she would love a rematch with top contender Manon Fiorot. Fiorot appears to be waiting for a title shot which she might get sooner or later. The UFC is wanting Alexa Grasso to fight at The Sphere in September and her opponent is supposed to be Valentina Shevchenko.
However, Shevchenko and Grasso had their rematch last year on Mexican Independence Day and Shevchenko was the victim of an extremely questionable scorecard which took the title away from her based on mind-boggling fifth round score. With that, Shevchenko is having some hesitancy and the UFC could pivot to Fiorot.
If Shevchenko does get the fight, Fiorot is left without an opponent. Now, I can’t see Fiorot being that interested in fighting Namajunas. Fiorot defeated Erin Blanchfield back in March and afterwards she made it clear that she wanted to wait for a UFC title shot.
If Fiorot declines to fight Namajunas, I wouldn’t mind re-booking the Maycee Barber fight or perhaps Namajunas fights Erin Blanchfield. Either way, Namajunas should be in a title eliminator for her next fight.