Fight cancellations have dominated headlines recently across the UFC; that's the case again with this weekend's UFC Fight Night. Rose Namajunas will take on Tracy Cortez in the main event after originally being scheduled to fight Maycee Barber in a highly anticipated women's flyweight division duel.
UFC Fight Night begins with prelims at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN with the main card kicking off around 9 p.m. on the same channel. The entire event will also be streamed exclusively on ESPN+. Let's dive into the odds for the main card and discuss the headline event.
UFC Fight Night preview: Namajunas vs. Cortez prediction
UFC Fight Night in Denver was supposed to feature the most highly anticipated bout in the women's flyweight division since Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2 back in 2023. Namajunas, a former title holder and No. 6 contender, was slated to fight Barber, the division's fourth-ranked contender. However, the latter pulled out for reasons still unknown to fans.
Luckily, Cortez (the division's No. 11 contender) sped up her preparations for her previously scheduled July 20 fight to take on Namajunas. The narrative around this fight is the veteran versus the rising star, which is very fitting given Cortez's 11-1 career record. This will undoubtedly be the 30-year-old's toughest challenge to date, and also a benchmark to see where she's at in comparison to other highly-rated contenders.
Namajunas hasn't quite lived up to her famous nickname, "Thug Rose," since snatching the belt from Zhang Weili in 2021. She's gone 2-2 in the four fights since with losses to Carla Esparza and Manon Fiorot. The 32-year-old got back to winning ways in her most recent outing against Amanda Ribas though.
Many are cautious about backing Namajunas given her recent form. However, she has a couple of unique advantages in this bout, which explains why she's the heavy favorite (-218 at DraftKings Sportsbook).
The Milwaukee native fights out of Denver, which is where this event will be held. Namajunas is far more familiar than her opponent with fighting at elevation, a factor that often proves tricky. She's also not taking this fight on short notice, unlike her opponent. One week can make all the difference in fight preparations, especially considering Cortez has never fought in a main event. Namajunas is no stranger to the spotlight or late-round action.
For these reasons, I like the former champ to get her second consecutive victory in this contest. I don't feel comfortable laying the juice on her moneyline odds, so I'll take Namajunas by decision (+110).
The 32-year-old's last four fights, and five of her last six, have gone to the judges for decision. Namajunas hasn't finished an opponent after the second round since 2015 either. Cortez's last seven bouts have ended without an early stoppage, which makes me feel even better about this pick at plus money.
Let's take a look at the lineup for the evening, as well as the odds for each fight on the main card (courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook) and make our picks:
UFC Fight Night Main Card
Time/TV: Main card starts at 9 p.m. CT (ESPN/ESPN+)
Location: Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado
Main Card (Projected winners in Italics): Abdul Razak Alhassan (-170) vs. Cody Brundage (+142); Julian Erosa (+190) vs. Christian Rodriguez (-230); Gabriel Bonfim (-325) vs. Ange Loosa (+260); Drew Dober (-105) vs. Jean Silva (-115)
Co-Main Event: Santiago Ponzinibbio (-185) vs. Muslim Salikhov (+154)
Main Event: Rose Namajunas (-218) vs. Tracy Cortez (+180)