Pre-fight discussion UFC on ESPN 59 - Namajunes Vs. Cortez Sat. July 13 Prelims 7pm et Main 20pm et ESPN/ESPN+

[PurpleStorm]

Hey folks this Saturday the UFC returns with UFC on ESPN 59: Namajunas vs. Cortez. Live from Denver, Colorado, this card features a flyweight matchup between Rose Namajunes and Tracy Cortez. What are your thoughts on the card? Any bouts you particularly anticipate? Care to share your breakdowns or predictions? Stay tuned for more developments during the week. Please keep the discussion friendly. The floor is yours!

UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. Cortez
July 13, 2024
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Main Card ESPN/ESPN+ 10pm
Prelims ESPN/ESPN+ 7pm

Date/Time: Saturday 07.13.2024 at 07:00 PM ET
U.S. Broadcast: ESPN
Promotion: Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ownership: Endeavor
Venue: Ball Arena
Location: Denver, Colorado, United States
Enclosure: Octagon
MMA Bouts: 11

UFC ON ESPN 59 - NAMAJUNAS VS. CORTEZ​

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
JUL 13, 2024

BALL ARENA, DENVER, COLORADO, UNITED STATES

MAIN EVENT: FLYWEIGHT
​

ROSE NAMAJUNAS (12-6-0)​

TRACY CORTEZ (11-1-0)​

​

MATCH	FIGHTERS
11	Santiago Ponzinibbio 29-7-0	Welterweight	Muslim Salikhov 19-5-0
10	Gabriel Bonfim 15-1-0	Welterweight	Ange Loosa 10-3-0
9	Drew Dober 27-13-0	Lightweight	Jean Silva 13-2-0
8	Julian Erosa 29-11-0	Featherweight	Christian Rodriguez 11-1-0
7	Abdul Razak Alhassan 12-6-0	Middleweight	Cody Brundage 10-6-0
6	Jasmine Jasudavicius 10-3-0	Flyweight	Fatima Kline 6-0-0
5	Luana Santos 7-1-0	Flyweight	Mariya Agapova 10-4-0
4	Andre Petroski 10-3-0	Middleweight	Josh Fremd 11-5-0
3	Nazim Sadykhov 9-1-1	Lightweight	Unknown Fighter --
2	Montel Jackson 13-2-0	Bantamweight	Da'Mon Blackshear 14-6-1
1	Joshua Van 10-1-0	Flyweight	Charles Johnson 15-6-0

 

[PurpleStorm]

By The Numbers: Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez​

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BRIAN KNAPP JUL 7, 2024 COMMENTS

A reshuffled deck does little to bother Rose Namajunas.

The two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight titleholder on July 13 will confront divisional upstart Tracy Cortez in the UFC on ESPN 59 headliner at Ball Arena in Denver. Namajunas has rattled off seven victories across her past 10 outings. She last fought on March 23, when she laid claim to a five-round unanimous decision over former Jungle Fight champion Amanda Ribas in their UFC on ESPN 53 main event. A short-notice substitution for Maycee Barber, Cortez greets the most significant opportunity of her career on an 11-fight winning streak. She last competed at UFC Fight Night 227, where she outpointed Jasmine Jasudavicius to a unanimous decision on Sept. 16.
As Namajunas and Cortez approach their forthcoming clash in the Mile High City, a look at some of the numbers that accompany them to this point:

32: Years of age for Namajunas, who was born on June 29, 1992 in Milwaukee. Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back,” Mariah Carey’s “I’ll Be There,” Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under the Bridge,” Kriss Kross’ “Jump” and Celine Dion’s “If You Asked Me To” were the top five songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 list at the time.


5: Namajunas wins by submission, accounting for 42% of her career total (12). Her methods of choice: four rear-naked chokes and one flying armbar. Namajunas holds two other wins by knockout or technical knockout (16%) and five more by decision (42%).

12: Consecutive calendar years in which Namajunas has fought at least once. In addition to her 1-0 mark in 2024, she went 2-1 in 2013, 0-1 in 2014, 2-0 in 2015, 1-1 in 2016, 2-0 in 2017, 1-0 in 2018, 0-1 in 2019, 1-0 in 2020, 2-0 in 2021, 0-1 in 2022 and 0-1 in 2023.

7: Submission attempts for Namajunas as a UFC women’s strawweight, placing her ninth on the promotion’s all-time list at 115 pounds. Only Mackenzie Dern (15), Jaqueline Amorim (11), Lupita Godinez (10), Cynthia Calvillo (nine), Polyana Viana(nine), Virna Jandiroba (nine), Michelle Waterson-Gomez (eight) and Claudia Gadelha(eight) have been credited with more.

86: Combined victories between the five women—Carla Esparza (twice), Manon Fiorot, Jessica Andrade, Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Tecia Pennington—who have beaten Namajunas. They boast a cumulative .711 winning percentage at 86-35.

30: Years of age for Cortez, who was born in Phoenix on Dec. 10, 1993. “Wayne’s World 2,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit,” “Geronimo: An American Legend” and “A Perfect World” were the top five movies at the domestic box office at the time.

1: Cortez victory by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 9% of her career total (11). She put away Karen Cedillo with second-round punches at a Combate Global show on Sept. 14, 2018. Cortez owns one other victory by submission (9%) and nine more by decision (82%).

103: Significant strikes landed by Cortez in her three-round encounter with Jasudavicius. It established a new personal high-water mark for the Fight Readyproduct.

6: Organizations for which Cortez has suited up as a professional mixed martial artist. She has gone 5-0 in the UFC, 2-1 in Invicta Fighting Championships, 1-0 in Dana White’s Contender Series, 1-0 in Combate Global, 1-0 in V3 Fights and 1-0 in the World Fighting Federation.

.623: Cumulative winning percentage between the five women—Jasudavicius, Melissa Gatto, Justine Kish, Stephanie Egger and Vanessa Melo—Cortez has defeated since she joined the UFC roster. They sport a combined record of 47-28-2.

By The Numbers: Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez

The women’s strawweights on July 13 will headline UFC on ESPN 59, as the Ultimate Fighting Championship visits Denver for the first time since 2018.

www.sherdog.com

 

[Koala]

Drew Dober vs Jean Silva looks like a banger

 

[PurpleStorm]

UFC on ESPN 59 Gets Two Late Additions to Denver Card​

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TRISTEN CRITCHFIELD JUL 8, 2024

Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 59 card will end up looking a lot different than originally intended.
This includes two late additions to the lineup: a bantamweight clash between Montel Jackson and Da'Mon Blackshear and a women’s flyweight tilt pitting Jasmine Jasudavicius against Fatima Kline. The promotion recently confirmed the bookings on its website. Jasudavicius was originally slated to meet Viviane Araujo before the Brazilian withdrew from the event.

UFC on ESPN 59 takes place at Ball Arena in Denver and is headlined by a 125-pound showdown between Rose Namajunas and Tracy Cortez. The main event was one of six fights on the card that either changed or was canceled entirely, as Cortez is a replacement for Maycee Barber.

Jackson has been victorious in his last four promotional appearances. Most recently, he scored a first-round knockout of Rani Yahya at UFC Fight Night 222 in April 2023.

Blackshear, meanwhile, had a two-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Mario Bautista at UFC 292.

Canada’s Jasudavicius has won three of her last four in UFC competition. The Dana White's Contender Series alum is coming off a third-round submission victory over Priscila Cachoeira at UFC 297 this past January.

Kline will take a 6-0 mark into her UFC debut. The 23-year-old New Yorker won her first four fights under the IInvicta FC banner before capturing the Cage Fury Fighting Championships 125-pound title.

UFC on ESPN 59 Gets Two Late Additions to Denver Card

Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 59 card will end up looking a lot different than originally intended.

www.sherdog.com

 

[PurpleStorm]

Thanks as always to @Gio for help with formatting in the original post. You are awesome.

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

Lets go Dober, always rooting for Dober, guy brings it every time and is fun to watch

Jawline from the Gods. Dober bless

 

[Luthien]

Picked Dober - I'm really disliking that Silva guy and his nerd shtick

 

[Koala]

Picked Dober - I'm really disliking that Silva guy and his nerd shtick

 

[PurpleStorm]

 

[AmonTobin]

Missing it for a music festival. Hope y’all enjoy it live.

 

[Luthien]

Missing it for a music festival. Hope y’all enjoy it live.

Have fun at catpalooza!! @HI SCOTT NEWMAN

 

[PurpleStorm]

Preview: UFC on ESPN 59 Prelims​

Kline vs. Jasudavicius​

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TOM FEELY JUL 10, 2024 COMMENTS

A flurry of last-minute changes to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s latest stop in Denver resulted in a surprisingly strong UFC on ESPN 59 undercard this Saturday at Ball Arena. It offers some of the best bouts on the bill, even if half of the competitors were not assigned to it two weeks ago. To that end, the featured fight sees the short-notice promotional debut of one of the top prospects on the regional scene, as highly touted strawweight Fatima Kline makes the move up to 125 pounds for a tough but winnable clash against Jasmine Jasudavicius. From there, the two late additions stand out as particularly strong affairs: Flyweight Joshua Van, who might be the best prospect on the UFC roster, gets a willing dance partner in Charles Johson, while bantamweights Montel Jackson and Da’Mon Blackshear meet in an interesting test for both men.

Now to the preview for the UFC on ESPN 59 prelims:

Women’s Flyweights​

Fatima Kline (6-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. #15 WFLW | Jasmine Jasudavicius (10-3, 4-2 UFC)

ODDS: Kline (-122), Jasudavicius (+102)

A late-notice change makes this a particularly fascinating affair, as it marks the UFC debut of a top prospect in Kline. The Long Islander is a shade over three years into her professional career, and she started getting some buzz as a potential call-up in the last year and a half, scoring a win over “The Ultimate Fighter” alum Laura Gallardo and winning titles at both flyweight and strawweight on the regional scene. Kline turns 24 the day before this fight takes place, and she is quite poised for someone so early in her career. Her reputation is as a standout grappler, but she has shown a solid knack for picking her spots to either stay patient or throw down on the feet. Kline’s regional fights have mostly been extended one-way traffic, but there is some concern in the short term with her move into a major promotion. With a lot of success centering around her wrestling, she doesn’t read as the type of powerhouse athlete who can get away with a bullying style, particularly up at 125 pounds. Kline will probably be fine in the long run in terms of adding strength and muscle—she might not even need to do so if she decides to carve a path down at strawweight—but for now, this late-notice debut against Jasudavicius could go either way. Jasudavicius has chugged along on the fringes of the UFC’s flyweight rankings since signing with the promotion in 2021. The Canadian has a focused game built around pressure but keeps running into a clear physical ceiling. Large but slow, Jasudavicius is capable of mauling an opponent who can’t get out of her way—see her extended beating of Priscila Cachoeira in January—but losses to Natalia Silvaand Tracy Cortez left her without much of an answer as to how to make up a clear difference in speed. Jasudavicius is an absolute gamer and clearly the toughest test of Kline’s career to date, but this does seem like a pairing where the UFC newcomer can thread the needle and walk away with a win. Jasudavicius wrestles a lot but doesn’t have lockdown defense, and Kline has a surprising amount of size parity given that she’s likely a natural strawweight. This could be an ugly grind no matter who wins. The pick is Kline via decision.

Continue Reading »
Kline vs. Jasudavicius
Van vs. Johnson
Santos vs. Agapova
Fremd vs. Petroski
Jackson vs. Blackshear

Preview: UFC on ESPN 59 Prelims - Kline vs. Jasudavicius

A flurry of last-minute changes to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s latest stop in Denver resulted in a surprisingly strong undercard.

www.sherdog.com

 

[Luthien]

@Sixstring

 

[vinnie245]

Card just got a late addition, wish Sadykhov got a new opponent but i guess nobody wanted to fight him.

Welterweight

Evan Elder

vs.

Darrius Flowers

 

[Davidjacksonjones]

Enjoy the fights guys

 

[Danespina]

Here's some finishes from Abdul Razak Alhassan, who is fighting this weekend.

 

[TempleoftheDog]

*The card is at serious elevation, in Denver..

Bandwagon jumping is not my thing. You people know this..

But “unknown fighter”.. The honest to shit future quadruple weight champion. Bookmark this shit. Fuckers are ducking him, though.



My fav fight is of course Jasmine. Don’t like opponent changes but, whatever.

You see the part where Agapova is ducking Jasmine though, right?

Gillian choked Agapova unconscious. She don’t want anymore Canadian smoke..

She might even be the underdog. But, Jasmine by decision.

Canadian girls, kick ass.

Speaking of girls..

I have a hard time imagining Rose losing to Cortez. But.. it’s Rose??

Rose has all of the advantages going in. Lives and trains in Denver. And on paper is much better than Cortez.

But what if space cadet Rose shows up?

Rose by decision.

Speaking of Agapova..

Santos is probably a decent favourite against her. It should go that way. But it’s wmma. Shit does happen.

Santos by decision.

Enjoy the fights everybody.

Thanks for the thread @PurpleStorm

 

[PurpleStorm]

 

[PurpleStorm]

5 Things You Might Not Know About Cody Brundage​

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BRIAN KNAPP JUL 10, 2024 COMMENTS

While Cody Brundage may never rise to the contender level, he can certainly deepen the much-needed Ultimate Fighting Championship middle class.

The 30-year-old Dana White’s Contender Series alum will seek his third win in four outings when he faces Abdul Razak Alhassan in a UFC on ESPN 59 middleweight feature this Saturday at Ball Arena in Denver. Brundage has put together a 4-5 record since he joined the UFC roster almost three years ago. He last competed at UFC 300, where he tapped to a rear-naked choke from undefeated super prospect Bo Nickal in the second round of their April 13 altercation. It was just the second submission loss—Rodolfo Vieira was responsible for the other—in his 16 pro bouts.

As Brundage approaches his forthcoming battle with Alhassan at 185 pounds, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. Odds were stacked against him at the start.​

Brundage was born on May 16, 1994 in Chapin, South Carolina—a small town of less than 2,000 people in the central part of The Palmetto State. He was a four-year letterman on the wrestling team at Chapin High School, where he won three region championships, reached a state final and compiled a 128-22 career mark.

2. His talents did not go unnoticed.​

Exploits in the singlet took Brundage to Newberry College in Newberry, Tennessee, where he was a two-time national qualifier at the Division II school. He racked up 96 victories—seventh-most in the program’s history at the time—and was selected as team captain.

3. He twice struck gold on the regional level.​

Brundage made his professional mixed martial arts debut at the age of 24 in 2019, won his first five fights and became a two-division titleholder in the Michigan-based Lights Out Championship organization. He captured the company’s middleweight crown with a five-round unanimous decision over Erick Lozano at LOC 6 on Dec. 14, 2019, then laid claim to the light heavyweight championship with a first-round arm-triangle choke submission of Lozano in their LOC 7 rematch two months later.

4. Expertise surrounds him.​

The South Carolina native operates out of the Factory X camp fronted by Marc Montoya in Englewood, Colorado. There, Brundage has daily access to a stable full of world-class teammates, from Anthony Smith, Chris Gutierrez and Rob Wilkinson to Dustin Jacoby, Brandon Royval and Alexander Hernandez.

5. He prefers to maximize his time.​

Brundage boasts six first-round finishes among his 10 career wins, three of them inside the Octagon. He submitted Dalcha Lungiambula with a guillotine choke 3:41 into their UFC Fight Night 203 pairing on March 12, 2022, put away Tresean Gore with punches 3:50 into their UFC on ESPN 39 encounter on July 9, 2022 and wiped out Zachary Reese with a slam and follow-up punches 1:49 into their UFC on ESPN 52 confrontation on Dec. 2, 2023.

5 Things You Might Not Know About Cody Brundage

The 30-year-old Dana White’s Contender Series alum will seek his third win in four outings when he faces Abdul Razak Alhassan in a UFC on ESPN 59 middleweight feature.

www.sherdog.com

 

[PurpleStorm]

*The card is at serious elevation, in Denver..

Bandwagon jumping is not my thing. You people know this..

But “unknown fighter”.. The honest to shit future quadruple weight champion. Bookmark this shit. Fuckers are ducking him, though.

View attachment 1052170

My fav fight is of course Jasmine. Don’t like opponent changes but, whatever.

You see the part where Agapova is ducking Jasmine though, right?

Gillian choked Agapova unconscious. She don’t want anymore Canadian smoke..

She might even be the underdog. But, Jasmine by decision.

Canadian girls, kick ass.

Speaking of girls..

I have a hard time imagining Rose losing to Cortez. But.. it’s Rose??

Rose has all of the advantages going in. Lives and trains in Denver. And on paper is much better than Cortez.

But what if space cadet Rose shows up?

Rose by decision.

Speaking of Agapova..

Santos is probably a decent favourite against her. It should go that way. But it’s wmma. Shit does happen.

Santos by decision.

Enjoy the fights everybody.

Thanks for the thread @PurpleStorm

Yeah I'm kind of surprised Agapova's fighting again in the UFC. There was a mention somewhere about further personal problems - considering all she's already had one can only imagine. Yeah I heavily favor Santos and picked her to get a finish.

Rose should get it done as she's got so much experience and great footwork. Cortez is strong on the ground though so we'll see what she might get done. Her record is surprisingly good. Still I've got Rose by decision.

I know you like Jasudavicius and I've got nothing against her. I've seen Kline fight and think she's very good. She's taking this on short notice and moving up a weight class. Despite these possible disadvantages I've got her to win. Should be a good fight.