UFC CEO Dana White, in a significant move, unveiled Denver’s highly-anticipated fight card on Tuesday. The event, scheduled for July 13, will feature four thrilling bouts. Topping the bill, is the Rose Namajunas vs. Maycee Barber fight, a clash that promises to be a showstopper. Also on the card are the welterweight division matchups: Mike Malott vs. Gilbert Urbina, Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov, and Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Loosa.
The match will be Barber’s first UFC main event after her six-fight winning streak and her defeat of Katlyn Cerminara at UFC 299. Her opponent, Namajunas, dominated Amanda Ribas back in March. ‘Thug’ made the shift to the flyweight division and has a 1-1 record. However, before her switch, she was a strawweight champion with victories over noteworthy opponents like Jessica Andrade, Joanna Jedrzejczjyk, and Zhang Weili.
The two fighters have previously met in the UFC octagon, and Namajunas describes her as a bully. Barber responded to this accusation in a recent interview with Sportskeeda MMA.
“I think that’s a great match up for me. The only downside is that I’m fighting backwards. For the first time I can actually say fighting Rose Namajunas would be me fighting backwards in the division. We do have some history, you know. I used to train with her out here in Denver and then I fought Audrey Perkins, who was a former teammate of hers, and then I fought JJ Aldrich… It just broke her when I beat JJ. There is some bitterness there. She wants to be the one to beat me.”
Malott [10-2-1], eager to bounce back after his first UFC loss to Neil Magny, is set to face Urbina[7-3]. Urbina, who suffered a first-round KO in March, is equally determined to prove himself in the octagon.
Veteran Ponzinibbio [29-1] and Salikhov [19-5] will clash in a savage battle as both opponents battle to score a win after their consecutive losses in their last bouts. Bonfinn [15-1] will clash with Lossa and will be trying to regain his undefeated run after losing it in a second-round KO against Nicolas Dalby.
The fight will take place at the Ball Arena and will be the promotion’s first return to Denver since 2018.
