UFC News: Denver Card Gets Unexpected Addition During Fight Week

An extra fight has been added to round out the UFC's return to Denver.

(Ball Arena)

An unexpected matchup has been added to UFC Fight Night Denver just a few days before the event is set to take place.

UFC Denver: Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez Preview, Best Fights & Full Card

Welterweight Bout Added to UFC Denver

Originally meant to feature a headlining women’s flyweight matchup between Rose Namajunas and Maycee Barber, UFC Denver took a sizeable hit when Barber was forced to withdraw before #11-ranked contender Tracy Cortez stepped in for a short-notice opportunity against the two-time strawweight champion.

May 7, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Tracy Cortez celebrates during UFC 274 at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

A number of other cancellations also caused some significant shake ups to the event, and now just a few days out from the card the UFC has announced that an unexpected welterweight matchup between Evan Elder and Darrius Flowers will now kick off the night’s action.

Flowers will be on the hunt for his first UFC victory in Denver after he dropped back-to-back fights last year following a win on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022, while Elder will look to even out his own UFC record after losing his unbeaten status to back-to-back losses before he defeated Genaro Valdéz just under a year ago.

Jul 29, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Jake Matthews (red gloves) fights Darrius Flowers (blue gloves) during UFC 291 at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports / Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

The announcement of the fight between Flowers and Elder also included confirmation that Cage Fury FC double-champion Fatima Kline will also make her UFC debut on short notice against Jasmine Jasudavicius after Kline was previously scheduled to compete on Contender Series later this year.

The addition of another matchup during fight week now gives UFC Denver a total of 12 bouts, and fans can look forward to watching all the action this Saturday night when things kick off at Ball Arena starting at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Main Card

• 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

Preliminary Card

• 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

UFC Denver, Namajunas vs. Cortez Full Fight Night Predictions

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