PWInsiderXTRA - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

 
 

UFC FIGHT NIGHT: NAMAJUNAS VS. CORTEZ PREVIEW

By Matt ten-Hoeve on 7/11/2024 12:40 PM

UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. Cortez Preview

July 11, 2024

The UFC is back after a week off and will be heading to Denver for UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. Cortez. A lot of UFC cards have had some major changes and this show was no different. In the end, though, we got a pretty decent card that I hope the live crowd is hot for. Let’s take a look at the lineup…

Main Card (10 PM on ESPN/ESPN+)

Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez

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 (7 PM on ESPN/ESPN+)

Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Fatima Kline

Joshua Van vs. Charles Johnson

Luana Santos vs. Mariya Agapova

Josh Fremd vs. Andre Petroski

Montel Jackson vs. Da’Mon Blackshear

The Prelims

As I always say, the UFC Prelims are definitely worth a watch. There are some fun names and matchups on this card. Let’s take a look at what I’m looking forward to…

Josh Fremd and Andre Petroski should put on a fun fight. Fremd tends to have entertaining fights and Petroski is looking to bounce back after his freak loss the last time out when he got oddly knocked out going for a takedown.

Joshua Van has been on fire. Although he’s had some close fights, he keeps coming out on top and the UFC keeps moving him up the card. A big win here could get him on a Main Card soon. Charles Johnson is a hell of a test to get passed, though, so I’m excited to see if Joshua can ace this exam.

Jasmine Jasudavicius is a great way to finish off the Prelims. She’s a lot of fun to watch and is trying to string a streak together to make a run at the division. Of course, Fatima Kline is coming in undefeated and will be very tough. I’m excited for this featured fight!

Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Cody Brundage

We haven’t seen Abdul Razak Alhassan in a while. He’s taken some time off since his submission loss to Joe Pyfer. Since Abdul lost his undefeated streak, he’s gone 5-6….so he is in need of a big win to try and set things right. Cody Brundage is always down for a fight, but is in pretty much the same exact position as Abdul Razak Alhassan. In fact, Cody has also gone 5-6 since losing his undefeated streak. Interesting! He was pretty much fed to Bo Nickal his last time out, so he’s going to do his best to not serve himself up on a platter again.

Julian Erosa vs. Christian Rodriguez

I don’t know what Christian Rodriguez is doing taking a fight against someone without an undefeated record. He’s so used to beating undefeated, up-and-coming fighters. I guess there are only so many zeroes a man can take, right? Julian Erosa is a veteran to this game and true test for Rodriguez - not that Rodriguez hasn’t been tested already. He just keeps passing those tests. This is a super intriguing fight to me and I think it’s going to be quite the battle.

Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Loosa

Both men are coming off odd fights - Bonfim after losing his undefeated streak despite being a heavy favorite and Loosa after a No Contest with Bryan Battle that got more heated after the fight than during it. No one expected Bonfim to lose to Nicholas Dalby, but Dalby is a tough match and it’ll be interesting to see what Gabriel learned from his first loss. Loosa, though, will have to have a strong showing because he didn’t do himself any favors with how the Battle fight went down.

Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva

Who doesn’t love Drew Dober? He’s exciting, he’s pretty…he is back after his loss to “Money” Moicano and is trying to get some wins back under his belt. Win or loss, there are a lot of finishes in his fights, so that is right up Jean Silva’s alley. Silva is having a super quick turn around after knocking out Charles Jourdain two weeks ago. Silva was super emotional after his win and was immediately called upon to fight this weekend. Is it too soon, though?

Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov

It’s good to see Santiago Ponzinibbio back, as he hasn’t fought since April of last year. He was supposed to fight back in September, but his fight got pulled and he hasn’t been seen since. He hasn’t been too lucky lately, going 2-4 in his last six fights. However, he’s a tough fighter who loves to throw. That works for Muslim Salikhov, who also loves to stand and bang. Muslim is 1-3 in his last four fights, so both men are definitely going to be looking for a big win here.

Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez

This was originally going to be Rose Namajunas vs. Maycee Barber, but Tracy Cortez was called in as a relatively late replacement. Surprisingly, a lot of fans are more interested in this fight. No offense to Tracy Cortez, but I do not agree. I think Barber vs. Namajunas is a huge fight that would give us a better idea of how the top of the division should take shape. Instead, Cortez gets the biggest fight of her career with a chance to create more questions in the division. I like Cortez a lot and I love her story. It’s very similar to Charlotte Flair’s story (for my fellow wrestling fans): she’s trying to live out her brother’s dream (he unfortunately passed away) of being a top tier MMA fighter. She’s done a great job so far and this could be the next step into stardom. So - even without Barber, we do get an interesting fight and get to see what Cortez can truly do. I was just excited to see Namajunas and Barber go at it. For Namajunas, though, this is still a test to try and prove that she still has it and can make steps towards a title again.

My Picks

Rose Namajunas

Santiago Ponzinibbio

Drew Dober

Gabriel Bonfim

Christian Rodriguez

Abdul Razak Alhassan

Jasmine Jasudavicius

Joshua Van

Luana Santos

Andre Petroski

Montel Jackson

Overall, I am looking forward to this show. It’s not the sexiest card on paper, but there are a lot of fun names and interesting matchups. A lot of the fights are pretty even - both on paper and in the betting odds.

What do you guys think? Will Namajunas stay on track or will Cortez get the biggest win of her career? Which fighters do you think might have a breakout performance? Let me know at matt.tenhoeve@gmail.com. I’ll be back next week to talk about the results and the MMA shows for next weekend. See you then!