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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

UFC Denver fans weren’t left disappointed when it came to all-out action and that was reflected in Saturday’s bonus winners.

Four fighters are leaving Ball Arena with an extra $ 50,000 for their efforts, that being Fight of the Night winners Jean Silva and Drew Dober, and Performance of the Night winners Charles Johnson and Montel Jackson.

Silva and Dober winning Fight of the Night should come as no surprise to anyone who watched their bloody battle, which ended early in Round 3 after doctors ruled that Dober could not continue due to a gnarly cut over his eye that was caused by a Silva elbow. Prior to the stoppage, the lightweights hit each other with several dynamic strikes that looked like they would have finished other opponent on the spot.

This is the first Fight Night bonus for Silva, who likely cost himself one two weeks ago when he came in heavy for a featherweight contest with Charles Jourdain. Silva knocked Jourdain out in spectacular fashion, but was ineligible for a bonus due to missing weight. This time, he was rewarded for his quick turnaround and his spectacular performance.

Dober is no stranger to bonus checks. He captures his fourth Fight of the Night and eighth fight night award overall.

Johnson and Jackson both received Performance of the Night for very different reasons, with Johnson scoring a comeback win late and Jackson ending his fight early.

Up against top prospect Joshua Van, Johnson needed a late finish after being out-struck for two rounds and he found in the final frame, catching Van with an uppercut that put him down just 20 seconds into Round 3. Johnson also earned a Fight of the Night bonus this past February when he upset the previously unbeaten Azat Maksum.

Jackson lived up to the nickname “Quik,” needing just 18 seconds to author a one-punch knockout of Da’Mon Blackshear. That’s now back-to-back bonuses for Jackson after he also won one for a first-round knockout of Rani Yahya in April 2023.

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Bonus Report
| BJPenn.com

UFC

Last night (Sat., July 13, 2024), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured forth to the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado for UFC Denver. Alas, it really felt like the promotion took an Apex event on the road. It didn’t help that both the scheduled main and co-main event bouts were marred by injury, but even at its best, UFC Denver was never a particularly high-profile night of action.

Fortunately, the fighters still delivered the action! Let’s take a look back over at UFC Denver’s best performances and techniques:

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Rose Namajunas At Her Flyweight Best

Rose Namajunas’ previous two Flyweight fights were decent performances, but it didn’t feel like the woman who knocked out Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. She looked a little flat against Amanda Ribas and lost outright to Manon Fiorot, raising questions about how much “Thug Rose” had to offer at 125-pounds.

Circumstances aside, this victory restores some confidence in Namajunas as a title threat. She was exceptional in the early goings, dancing around Tracy Cortez and repeatedly stinging her with hard punches. Cortez hit a whole lot of air, and Namajunas proved a point further by outwrestling the bigger woman consistently throughout the 25 minute fight. A finish would’ve been nice, but a dominant win over a highly regarded up-and-comer is still a great notch in Namajunas’ cap.

Personally, I think the move is to rebook her opposite Maycee Barber, but it remains to be seen how the wonky Flyweight title picture shakes out. If indeed Valentina Shevchenko doesn’t want to fight Alexa Grasso in the Sphere, Namajunas could slip in as an alternative.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Jean Silva Is FOR REAL!

A couple weeks ago, Jean Silva highly impressed at UFC 303 by picking apart Charles Jourdain. He turned a veteran striker into a wrestler, then knocked out the durable Featherweight with a slick uppercut off a failed takedown. It was really powerful and composed work from the 27 year old Brazilian, a very notable performance.

Well, he just topped himself in a nearly unbelievable way. Silva stepped up on short-notice to fight at altitude versus Drew Dober, one of the biggest and most experienced men at 155-pounds. In fact, Dober is a hugely prolific knockout artist himself, known for his durability and toughness in a brawl.

All those circumstances add up to an unreasonably tall ask, yet Silva smoked him. He was touching Dober up from the first bell, which isn’t a total shock given that Featherweight speed advantage. What was more surprising was that Silva’s power made a clear impact on the iron chin of Dober, and he was relatively unbothered by the fire coming back his way. That trend largely continued as the rounds wore on, and Silva somehow never really slowed down despite the high pace, short-notice, and altitude.

For most of three rounds, Silva styled on Dober. He tore him up with counter punches and spinning elbows. Dober was saved by the bell at the end of the second, so “Lord Assassin” just finished him a second time by ripping open the cut above his eye further. Right after slicing Dober again, Silva pointed at the cut and told Herb Dean that the fight was over. It took a few seconds for Dean to clue in, but Silva was right on the money for the umpteenth time.

The guy is a problem. He might just have championship potential. It’s too early to be sure, but it’s not too early to say he’s going to knock out a whole bunch of people before his UFC career is up.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Classic Juicy J

Julian Erosa vs. Christian Rodriguez effectively demonstrated why picking Erosa fights is impossible.

Rodriguez spent most of the fight absolutely torching Erosa in the pocket, where the lanky Featherweight chooses to engage every time. He boxed the veteran up, punished his low hand position with a clean high kick, and was scoring well in just about every exchange. The tricky thing about Erosa, however, is that if you don’t manage to knock him clean out, he remains extremely dangerous.

This time around, the grappling allowed Erosa to change his fortunes. He caught a kick and tipped Rodriguez over, taking his back. It looked bad for “CeeRod,” but he showed his own skill by reversing into guard. He seemed fully in control when Erosa sat up and wrapped up his neck with a closed guard guillotine. That technique isn’t supposed to work in 2024, yet Rodriguez tapped frantically to relieve the crushing pressure on his windpipe!

You can’t ever trust him, but you also can never count out “Juicy J.”

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

A Veteran KO

He wasn’t necessarily winning through ten minutes, but Charles Johnson came into his fight with a lot of smart answers to Joshua Van’s relentless pressure and combination punching.

Right away, Johnson was looking to chip away at his opponent from the Southpaw stance, firing left kicks into the arms often and digging at the lead leg. He switched stances often and in combination, looking to sneak punches through the composed guard of his 22-year-old opponent. In general, variety was a great strength, as Johnson threw round kicks, punches at all angles, spinning strikes, and step-in elbows.

His problem was that Van hits a whole lot harder. The difference in impact was clear, and Johnson’s movement was a little funky. It looked like an MMA fighter trying to copy Muay Thai strategies, which while not a bad idea, will look a little odd compared to a true Nak Muay who has been doing it for decades.

All in all, the underdog “Inner G” kept it close through ten minutes. He turned it up in the final frame, however, really sitting on his punches and exploding forward right away. He clipped Van with a hook then floored him badly with an uppercut follow up, earning the stoppage win.

Johnson may not be a title threat at 125 lbs., but the division needs established names to test talented up-and-comers like Van, and he’s more than qualified. It doesn’t hurt that all of his fights are really fun too! As for Van, he’ll certainly be back and likely better after this learning experience — don’t give up on the young prospect.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Bantamweight’s Dark Horse?

It’s been clear to anyone paying attention that Montel Jackson is a very dangerous man.

First and foremost, “Quik” is massive for the division, 5’10” and physically strong. His wrestling background means he’s hard to take down, and Jackson takes advantage by unleashing his piston-like punches on anyone willing to step near him. He’s quietly put together an excellent UFC record, winning eight of his last nine after last night’s stoppage win over Da’Mon Blackshear.

As for the win itself … what’s there to say? Jackson sparked his foe in just 18 seconds with a perfect 1-2, timed as Blackshear tried to step forward into his own offense. Jackson is landing knockdowns — and now knockouts — with a scary consistency for the lighter weight classes, and it’s time to get him in the cage with a ranked opponent.

Anyone know what Jonathan Martinez is up to?

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Additional Thoughts

• Luana Santos defeats Mariya Agapova via first-round rear naked choke: This fight wasn’t remotely competitive. Santos floored Agapova very early with a right hand then slammed her to the floor with a massive Judo throw. Almost immediately, she was in mount, threatening an arm triangle. Agapova gave up the back to avoid that strangle, and the rear naked choke sunk in quickly. At 24 years of age, Santos has demonstrated a well-rounded game and won three straight in the Octagon, establishing herself as a serious prospect at 125 lbs.
• Evan Elder defeats Darrius Flowers via second-round arm triangle (HIGHLIGHTS): One of the many short-notice bouts on the card, this one wasn’t particularly surprising. Elder didn’t have an impressive record heading into this fight (1-2 UFC), but he showed a pretty advanced skill set in victory or defeat. Flowers, meanwhile, has a weird mix of skills and no complete MMA game, and he was the man who stepped up to fight at altitude on short-notice! Predictably, it didn’t go well, and Elder was largely able to dominate his foe on the floor en route to the tapout win.

For complete UFC Denver: “Namajunas vs. Cortez” results and play-by-play, click HERE!

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Rose Namajunas capped off Saturday’s UFC Denver event with a one-sided victory over Tracy Cortez to earn her second straight win at 125 pounds. Following the win, Namajunas expressed her interest in fighting for the flyweight title, or a women’s “BMF” title, but are any of those realistically possible for the two-time strawweight champion?

MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, José Youngs, and Eric Jackman react to the UFC’s latest Fight Night card, Namajunas’ performance, and discuss what could be next for her. Additionally, they discuss the chaotic fight between Jean Silva and Drew Dober, Silva’s breakout potential with three stoppage wins to start the year, the controversy surrounding the Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan fight, Montel Jackson’s 18-second knockout victory, Charles Johnson’s comeback win over Joshua Van, and more.

Catch the UFC Denver post-fight show above. An audio-only version of the show can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

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The famed octagon was at the Ball Center in Denver, Colorado on Saturday for UFC on ESPN: Namajunas vs. Cortez.  The event was headlined by a women’s flyweight bout between former two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas and Tracy Cortez.  

UFC Denver: Namajunas vs. Cortez Post-Fight Press Conference

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Rose Namajunas is still one of the best in the world.

Twice a champion at 115 pounds, Namajunas is looking more and more comfortable up a division at flyweight as she scored another main event victory to close out UFC Denver. Namajunas handed up-and-coming contender Tracy Cortez her first loss inside the octagon, putting on a vintage performance that showed off all facets of her well-rounded game.

Cortez was rocked early in the fight and it looked as though Namajunas’ punches knocked off a set of fake eyelashes that Cortez was wearing. As expected, the Twittersphere was quick to jump on this detail, with Alan Jouban marveling that Namajunas “literally punched her eyelash off!”

It didn’t get much better for Cortez from there as Namajunas controlled the action for 25 minutes, though she showed her fighting spirit in the later rounds to avoid being shut out on the cards.

See social media reactions to the UFC Denver main event below.

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