Rose Namajunas has her eyes on a shot at the title after ending Tracy Cortez’s undefeated run in the UFC.
The women’s flyweight bout was the UFC on ESPN 59 main event at Ball Arena in Denver. It was a big opportunity for Cortez (11-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) to step up and replace an injured Maycee Barber, but the former strawweight champ Namajunas (14-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) proved there are levels to this game, winning a unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47).
The former strawweight champ got to work quickly on the outside, darting in and out with quick strikes as she mixed up punches and kicks. Two minutes in, Namajunas dropped Cortez with a clean punch, knocking off an eyelash, but could not finish the fight after following her to the ground.