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

After a week's hiatus, the UFC is back in Denver to deliver a deceptively action-packed night of fights.

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Former two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas returns, this time against short-notice replacement Tracy Cortez, who replaces an injured Maycee Barber. The main event is a high-stakes competition to see if Namajunas still has a place at the top of the sport.

Fights to Watch at UFC Denver

Fremd vs. Petroski, Blackshear vs. Jackson

UFC Denver starts strong with Josh Fremd vs. Andre Petroski, two grapplers who aren't afraid of a stand-up kickboxing match. After that, bantamweight prospects go to war. Da'Mon Blackshear possesses one of three Twister submissions in UFC history, and his opponent, Montel Jackson, is one of the hottest prospects at 135.

Debut of Fatima Kline

Undefeated strawweight Fatima Kline is a highly-touted regional prospect filling in for Viviane Araujo against Jasmine Jasudavicius. As a former Cage Fury double-champ, Kline carries a lot of expectation in her UFC debut, and Jasudavicius is no pushover.

Return of Joshua Van

Can you even call Joshua Van a prospect anymore? Van has steamrolled onto the flyweight scene with dominant victories over Felipe Bunes, Kevin Borjas, and Zhalgas Zhumagulov. He will face former LFA champ Charles Johnson, who returned to form with a win over Jake Hadley in May.

Rodriguez vs. Erosa

The surging Christian Rodriguez finally gets a high-profile fight against Julian Erosa. Rodriguez is on a three-fight streak of spoiling undefeated records: first against Raul Rosas Jr., then against Cameron Saaiman and Isaac Dulgarian. The Dulgarian result was contentious, but Rodriguez proved his mettle nonetheless. He faces a stiff test in Erosa, a UFC veteran with a stunning 83 percent finish rate.

Return of Gabriel Bonfim

The more accomplished Bonfim brother, Gabriel Bonfim has never seen the final bell in his 16-fight professional career. Bonfim will be trying to recoup after his first loss to Nicolas Dalby. Acting as spoiler is Ange Loosa, who also gets the opportunity to overcome a disappointing no-contest in his last performance.

Jean Silva Makes a Quick Turnaround

Two weeks after handing Charles Jourdain his first KO loss at UFC 303, Jean Silva returns, replacing Mike Davis against Drew Dober. With heavy hands and die-by-the-sword styles, Dober and Silva have a penchant for violent fights. There's no way this fight disappoints.

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UFC Denver Full Fight Card

(subject to change)

• Josh Fremd vs. Andre Petroski; MW
• Montel Jackson vs. Da'Mon Blackshear; BW
• Luana Santos vs. Mariya Agapova; BW
• Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Fatima Kline; FLW
• Joshua Van vs. Charles Johnson; FLW
• Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan; MW
• Christian Rodriguez vs. Julian Erosa; FW
• Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Loosa; WW
• Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva; LW
• Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov; WW
• Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez; FLW

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