Bloody Elbow UFC Denver predictions: A KO-heavy night on the cards in 'The Mile High City'
12/07/2024 12:00
The UFC returns to Denver, Colorado, for the eighth time in its history this coming Saturday, with a late-notice flyweight fight between Rose Namajunas and Tracy Cortez headlining the event.
Although it isn’t the type of stacked card that is going to capture a huge amount of interest, there are undoubtedly some intriguing matchups throughout. And the main event between Tracy Cortez and former strawweight champion, Rose Namajunas, is pretty decent.
Let’s get straight into our main card predictions, as we envision a night of tired fighters in ‘The Mile High City’.
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs Cody Brundage – Middleweight bout
Opening up the main card is a hard-hitting fight between middleweights, Abdul Razak Alhassan and Cody Brundage.
Brundage last competed on the huge UFC 300 event where he took on soaring star, Bo Nickal, in what was ultimately an unwinnable battle for the 30-year-old. ‘Judo Thunder’ on the other hand hasn’t fought since October last year, when he was submitted by Joe Pyfer.
This is a relatively low-level fight in the 185lb division but both fighters have tonnes of heart.
It’s going to be a battle of the teams, Factory X vs Fortis MMA, and for me in this instance, Fortis MMA is going to come out on top.
Prediction: Abdul Razak Alhassan via KO
Julian Erosa vs Christian Rodriguez – Featherweight bout
I am predicting this will be Fight of the Night. This is a great matchup between Julian Erosa, who has the capability of pulling off wicked victories against some of the best in the division, and Christian Rodriguez, someone who is severely underlooked as one of the best prospects.
Although the 26-year-old has been matched up with three undefeated prospects in his last three outings, he has snatched all three of their 0’s, showcasing that in fact, he’s the blue-chip prospect.
‘Cee-Rod’ has the capability of taking the fight anywhere and looking comfortable. ‘Juicy J’ is likely going to try and make this a dog fight by using his experience and career mileage.
However, I think that’s where he will come unstuck. I see Rodriguez moving to 12-1, putting himself on the edge of the top 15.
Prediction: Christian Rodriguez via decision
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Gabriel Bonfim vs Ange Loosa – Welterweight bout
Following his emergence into the UFC in 2022, Gabriel Bonfim was instantly highlighted as a future title contender, but in his last outing against Nicolas Dalby, his momentum was halted massively.
Granted, Dalby is highly experienced and extremely well-rounded, but the Brazilian lost a lot of his shine due to that performance. Ange Loosa on the other hand is athletic and strong, but in my opinion, nowhere near as skilled as the 26-year-old Brazilian.
‘Marretinha’ is going to want to bounce back emphatically, and I see him doing just that with his ferocious and fast striking.
Prediction: Gabriel Bonfim via KO
Drew Dober vs Jean Silva – Lightweight bout
After missing weight for his UFC 303 fight against Charles Jourdain, Jean Silva decided to make a short turnaround to fight Drew Dober at 155lbs just two weeks later.
This is a relatively big step up for the Brazilian who is competing in just his third UFC fight, considering Dober has only just fallen out of the lightweight rankings.
Although the 27-year-old Fighting Nerd is exciting, I think the short turnaround and big step up in competition could prove difficult for him, this time out.
Dober’s doggedness will be enough to get him through this fight and put on enough pressure to make Silva uncomfortable.
Prediction: Drew Dober via KO
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs Muslim Salikhov – Welterweight bout
This is how the promotion should matchmake their older fighters. Muslim Salikhov at 40 years old is coming in off the back of two losses, and Santiago Ponzinibbio at 37 years old is coming in off a loss to Kevin Holland.
Despite that, there is no way this should be a co-main event, even of a Fight Night card.
The Russian Kung Fu specialist has the more technical striking but he is clearly at a point in his career where he is struggling to put it together when it matters.
Ponzinibbio on the other hand has only won one fight in his last four, despite two of the losses being close decisions.
Although the Russian is the underdog in this matchup, I actually favor him due to his striking advantage.
Prediction: Muslim Salikhov via KO
Rose Namajunas vs Tracy Cortez – Flyweight bout
The main event of the evening sees Tracy Cortez take on her toughest test so far in former strawweight champion, Rose Namajunas.
Namajunas moved up to 125lbs following her title loss to Carla Esparza two years ago and in her 125lb debut, lost to Manon Fiorot. She then went on to take on Amanda Ribas in a main event, where she returned to the win column.
‘Thug’ Rose was originally scheduled to take on Maycee Barber, but ‘The Future’ withdrew just a few weeks out, leaving the door open for Cortez.
The Mexican was already in camp as she was scheduled to take on Miranda Maverick on July 20, meaning it hasn’t been entirely short notice for the 30-year-old.
Cortez is hoping a win over the 32-year-old could earn her a shot at Alexa Grasso on September 14 at UFC 306.
Something that could end up being a big factor in this fight is that Namajunas trains in Colorado, and so will be more acclimated to the altitude. Having said that, she needs to be far more active than she has been in her last few fights.
Too much patience and hesitancy have caused her to come up short.
Despite that, I believe Rose’s skill set and experience will give her the edge in this fight, and she will score back-to-back wins for the first time since 2021.
Prediction: Rose Namajunas via decision
