Rose Namajunas calls for first ever 'women's BMF' title fight after dominant win over Tracy Cortez at UFC Denver
14/07/2024 10:12
Rose Namajunas wants to fight for a belt after her latest octagon win, whether the undisputed the flyweight or a new women’s BMF title.
The two-time strawweight champion moved up to 125lb in September of 2023 in a losing effort to Manon Fiorot after losing her 115lb belt. Since then, she has racked up a pair of victories in her new division, beating Amanda Ribas in March and Tracy Cortez last night in Denver.
Now, Namajunas believes she is due a shot at the winner of Alexa Grasso’s next title defence, which is expected to take place at UFC 306 at The Sphere in Las Vegas. She dominated proceedings against Cortez last night, who had never lost under the UFC banner.
Rose Namajunas controls proceedings to win late notice UFC Denver main event
From the get-go, it appeared that there was a clear levels gap between the impressive prospect Tracy Cortez and veteran Rose Namajunas. After losing her professional debut, the Phoenix native had gone on to win 11 straight fights, including a Contender Series bout and five straight in the UFC.
But she looked out of her depth and devoid of solutions from start to finish as Namajunas used her control of distance to dictate the pace. The former champion even landed a big knockdown in the first, although she was unable to push for the finish.
Cortez had accepted the fight on short notice after Maycee Barber was forced out with injury, much to the delight of fans. She even had to cut her hair in order to make weight on Friday morning, which caused her to tear up as she posed on the scales.
But her lack of experience at the top level was evident on the night as over five rounds she was unable to shut down Namajunas’ attacks. The result was her first defeat since August of 2017 in her debut, and her first time ever tasting defeat on the scorecards.
Rose Namajunas wants women’s BMF belt or world title shot
After her victory, Namajunas was in typical form celebrating without saying all too much in her post-fight octagon interview. But she did call for a shot at either a women’s version of the ‘BMF’ title which has been held by Jorge Masvidal, Justin Gaethje and now Max Holloway, or Alexa Grasso herself.
“Man, Denver has been so good to me for so many years,” she told Paul Felder in front of a cheering crowd. “I had a rough upbringing and just when I’m here it’s like I can just kind of breathe so I thank you guys so much.
“I knew she was going to be really tough, I knew I should have just let her up [after the knockdown] but she was really good at getting her guard and recovering. So I had a thought that it could have been the end but I was like ‘oh she’s tough’.
“I knew her wrestling was really good and she was really good at getting back up so I was just hesitant to wrestle too much. But I just kept getting successful there so I just kept going to it.
“Give me the belt, man, I want it. I’m Colorado’s first UFC champion so I want to bring the second one back here. Either that or maybe a women’s BMF, I don’t know!”
- HEAVYWEIGHT SHOWDOWN:Tom Aspinall sent warning by Ciryl Gane
