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UFC Denver News: Hometown Hero Rose Namajunas Defeats Tracy Cortez in Main Event

The two women's flyweights met in a UFC Fight Night main event.

Drew Beaupre

(Zuffa LLC)

The main event of UFC Denver saw Rose Namajunas put on a veteran performance to hand Tracy Cortez her first UFC loss.

UFC Fight Night Denver: Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez Live Results & Highlights

Namajunas Spoils Cortez's Short-Notice Bid

Originally scheduled to face Maycee Barber in the headlining fight for UFC Denver, Namajunas instead met Cortez in a short-notice matchup after the latter fighter was originally set to meet Miranda Maverick next week.

A fight with the former two-time strawweight champion presented easily the biggest opportunity of Cortez's career, but in the first round the 30-year-old briefly found herself on her back after eating a huge punch from Namajunas.

Cortez went on to have moments of success during her first five-round main event, but she was largely outworked by the former champion throughout the fight and Namajunas ended up taking a clear unanimous decision.

"Thug Rose" has now won back-to-back fights after dropping her flyweight debut to Manon Fiorot last year, while Cortez suffered her first UFC loss and had an 11-fight win streak snapped in the process.

The rest of the UFC Denver main card included some standout results such as Julian Erosa submitting Christian Rodriguez with a first-round guillotine, and Jean Silva also earned his second win in two weeks after his fight with Drew Dober was stopped in the final round due to a nasty cut.

UFC Denver News: Fight Ends After Nasty Cut Leaves Fighter's Eyebrow Hanging Off

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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