When is the next UFC fight?
As fight fans are winding down from UFC 303, the International Fight Week card, they must be thinking about when the next fight card will occur. After a major PPV event, there is usually a week off for the company, so everyone can rest and think forward to future fight card bookings. The next fight card will not happen this upcoming week but rather the week after on July 13. The UFC will return to Denver, Colorado at the Ball Arena where No. 6 ranked Rose Namajunas will headline battling No. 11 ranked Tracey Cortez.
Namajunas is a former two-time strawweight champion, and she has moved up to flyweight to search for new title opportunities involving new opponents. She won herself a flyweight ranking by beating top 10 ranked contender Amanda Ribas by unanimous decision in a recent Apex main event. Namajunas was originally going to face No. 4 ranked Maycee Barber, but Barber was forced to withdraw due to health issues. Cortez is on an 11 fight winning streak and has not lost a fight in seven years. She was originally scheduled to face unranked Miranda Maverick at the Apex, a week after UFC Denver. This will be a major step up in competition for Cortez.
UFC Denver fight card
MAIN CARD
- Rose Namajunas (13-6-0) vs. Tracy Cortez (11-1-0)
- Drew Dober (27-13-0) vs. Mike Davis (11-2-0)
- Santiago Ponzinibbio (30-7-0) vs. Muslim Salikhov (19-5-0)
- Gabriel Bonfim (15-1-0) vs. Ange Loosa (10-3-0)
- Julian Erosa (29-12-0) vs. Christian Rodriguez (11-1-0)
- Abdul Razak Alhassan (12-6-0) vs. Cody Brundage (10-6-0)
- Viviane Araujo (12-6-0) vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius (10-3-0)
- Luana Santos (7-1-0) vs. Mariya Agapova (10-4-0)
- Josh Fremd (11-5-0) vs. Andre Petroski (10-4-0)
UFC Denver has had a few injuries and fight cancellations, making the number of fights smaller than usual for a card. The co-main event for now is an intriguing, welterweight scrap between Santiago
Ponzinibbio and Muslim Salikhov. Drew Dober was going to face Mike Davis in a lightweight fight, but Davis tore his bicep a while back. For now, the UFC plans to try and find a last-minute replacement for Dober. Also planned for the main card, Gabriel Bonfim will battle fellow welterweight Ange Loosa, Julian Erosa fights Christian Rodriguez at featherweight, and middleweights, Abdul Razak Alhassan and Cody Brundage will go to war.
As for the prelims, No. 10 ranked flyweight Viviane Araújo will face unranked flyweight Jasmine Jasudavicius. Lightweight Nazim Sadykhov was going to face Chris Duncan, at first. Duncan pulled out for unknown reasons, leading to lightweight Marquel Mederos stepping in. Later on, Mederos also ended up pulling out for some unknown reason. Sadykov is still left on the fight card without an opponent. It could be a brilliant idea if Dober and Sadykov face each other, as they are both lightweights in need of an opponent. That could work if the UFC cannot find opponents for each lightweight. To finish out the prelims, more flyweights collide as Luana Santos faces Mariya Agapova, while Josh Fremd and Andre Petroski collide in a middleweight showdown.