Rose Namajunas beats Tracy Cortez by unanimous decision to cap UFC Denver

Thug Rose put on for the city on Saturday to cap UFC’s long-anticipated return to Denver.

Rose Namajunas beat Tracy Cortez by unanimous decision at Ball Arena, the only one of the four local fighters on the card to win after Josh Fremd lost by unanimous decision, Cody Brundage got a no-contest and Drew Dober was TKO’d.

Cortez, who took the fight on short notice after Maycee Barber withdrew due to medical issues, held her own against Namajunas. But Namajunas, a Westminster resident by way of Milwaukee, showed her mettle while registering her second win in the flyweight division after the two-time strawweight champion moved up a weight class last year.

“I’m happy with the performance,” said Namajunas, who took a step forward toward a shot at the flyweight belt. “I’m happy with having very little injury, being able to win and I thought it was an exciting fight.”

Namajunas struck first with a knockdown two minutes into the fight, rattling Cortez with a left hook that caused one of Cortez’s fake eyelashes to fly off. In the second round, Cortez got a takedown, but the crowd roared when Namajunas got back up and then registered a takedown of her own in the waning seconds.

Then Namajunas took control of the bout in the third round, with a couple of takedowns, a ground-and-pound and a kick to the face. Cortez got more aggressive in the final two rounds, but it was too little, too late as Namajunas played good defense and landed a few more jabs of her own.

“I knew I was up three rounds to nothing (entering the fourth round), so it was all about being smart,” Namajunas said. “I knew she was going to try to make it chaotic, which she did in certain moments, but nothing was landing super solid.”

Namajunas finished with a 119-85 advantage in total strikes and a 96-58 advantage in significant strikes while snapping Cortez’s 11-fight win streak, five of which came in the UFC.

Dober vs. Silva delivers. Drew Dober’s face was bloodied as he took the mic and smiled, even in defeat to Jean Silva.

“I got these Neanderthal eyebrows that cut open very easily,” Dober said after getting TKO’d in the third round. “But Jean Silva and I, this is what I mean when I talk about being a warrior. He took (the fight) with two weeks’ notice. I will fight anybody. This is what fighting’s all about. I don’t care who, and when, and where. We throw hands and we make war.”

The two fighters did just that in Saturday’s lightweight UFC bout. Silva cut open Dober’s right eyebrow in the first round and the blood kept pouring out of Dober’s face until the fight was called one minute and 28 seconds into the final round.

Silva, who took the fight on extremely short notice — he won at UFC 303 just two weeks ago — dropped to his knees in the octagon after winning and started to cry. The 14 days between his bouts tied for the third-quickest turnaround in modern UFC history.

“I’m telling you, I’m different,” Silva said.

While Dober had an edge in significant strikes (59-53), Silva’s quick hands and spinning elbows were a deciding factor as the Brazilian consistently battered Dober’s face. Both fighters showed good sportsmanship throughout the match, up to and through Dober consoling an emotional Silva after the bout was called and even raising his hand.

“The elbows, the hands, everything was planned, everything was trained,” Silva said. “But I just really want to thank Drew Dober, a guy who I’ve been following throughout my whole career. He’s always proved to people that no matter the size, you’re always going to be going to war. Thank you, Drew Dober.”

The bout was deemed the fight of the night in front of a sold-out crowd of 16,884 that featured a number of notable local fighters on hand such as Donald Cerrone, Justin Gaethje, Curtis Blaydes, Brandon Royval and Raquel Pennington.

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