The octagon returned to its birthplace of Denver on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 59 at Ball Arena, where seven of the 12 bouts on the card ended inside the distance.
One of the fights that required the judges was the main event, where former UFC strawweight champ Rose Namajunas (13-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) earned a unanimous decision nod over Tracy Cortez (11-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) to continue her trajectory toward a women’s flyweight title shot.
For more on the numbers to come out of the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 59.
Rose Namajunas def. Tracy Cortez
Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Rose Namajunas (red gloves) fights Tracy Cortez (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Namajunas improved to 2-1 since she moved up to the women’s flyweight division in September 2023.
Cortez fell to 3-1 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in April 2021.
Cortez suffered the first decision loss of her career.
Muslim Salikhov def. Santiago Ponzinibbio
Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Santiago Ponzinibbio (red gloves) fights Muslim Salikhov (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Muslim Salikhov (20-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has earned four of his seven UFC victories by knockout.
Santiago Ponzinibbio (29-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC) fell to 2-5 in his past seven fights dating back to January 2021.
Jean Silva def. Drew Dober
Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Drew Dober (red gloves) fights Jean Silva (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Silva (14-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has earned 13 of his 14 career victories by stoppage.
Silva’s two UFC victories in a 14-day stretch is tied for the third-shortest turnaround in modern company history. Khamzat Chimaev holds the record at 10 days.
Dober (27-14 MMA, 13-10 UFC) has suffered six of his 10 UFC losses by stoppage.
Gabriel Bonfim def. Ange Loosa
Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Gabriel Bonfim (red gloves) fights Ange Loosa (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Gabriel Bonfim (16-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) earned the first decision victory of his career.
Ange Loosa (10-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has suffered all four of his career losses by decision.
Julian Erosa def. Christian Rodriguez
Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Julian Erosa (red gloves) fights Christian Rodriguez (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Julian Erosa (29-11 MMA, 8-7 UFC) improved to 7-3 since he returned to the UFC for a third stint in June 2020.
Erosa has earned 24 of his 29 career victories by stoppage.
Christian Rodriguez (11-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) fell to 1-1 since he moved up to the UFC featherweight division in March 2024.
Rodriguez suffered the first stoppage loss of his career with a submission defeat.
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Cody Brundage
Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Abdul Razak Alhassan (red gloves) reacts during a pause in his fight against Cody Brundage (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Abdul Razak Alhassan (13-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) is 3-3 with on no contest since he moved up to the UFC middleweight division in April 2021.
Charles Johnson def. Joshua Van
Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Charles Johnson (blue gloves) knocks out Joshua Van (red gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Johnson (16-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) has earned all three of his UFC stoppage victories by knockout.
Joshua Van (10-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has suffered both of his career losses by stoppage.
Van suffered the first knockout loss of his career.
Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Fatima Kline
Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Jasmine Jasudavicius (red gloves) hugs Fatima Kline (blue gloves) after their fight during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Jasmine Jasudavicius (11-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) has earned four of her five UFC victories by decision.
Fatima Kline (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) had her six-fight winning steak snapped for the first defeat of her career.
Montel Jackson def. Da’Mon Blackshear
Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Luana Santos (red gloves) celebrates after knocking out Mariya Agapova (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Jackson’s (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak at bantamweight is the third-longest active streak in the division behind Merab Dvalishvili (nine) and Mario Bautista (six).
Jackson’s 18-second knockout marked the second-fastest finish in UFC bantamweight history behind Erik Perez’s 17-second win at UFC 150.
Jackson’s 11 knockdowns landed in UFC bantamweight competition are most in divisional history.
Jackson has landed a knockdown in seven consecutive UFC fights, tied with Chuck Liddell, Quinton Jackson, Cody Garbrandt, and Josh Emmett for the longest run in company history.
Da’Mon Blackshear (14-7-1 MMA, 2-3-1 UFC) suffered the first stoppage loss of his career with a knockout defeat.
Luana Santos def. Mariya Agapova
Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Luana Santos (red gloves) celebrates defeating Mariya Agapova (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Luana Santos (8-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has earned four of her five career stoppage victories by submission.
Mariya Agapova’s (10-5 MMA, 2-4 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since October 2021.
Agapova fell to 1-4 in her past five fights dating back to August 2020.
Agapova has suffered four of her five career losses by stoppage.
Evan Elder def. Darrius Flowers
Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Evan Elder (red gloves) celebrates defeating Darrius Flowers (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Evan Elder (9-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has earned six of his nine career victories by stoppage.
Darrius Flowers’ (12-8-1 MMA, 0-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since August 2022.
Flowers has suffered seven of his eight carer losses by stoppage. He’s been submitted in six of those defeats.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on X @MJCflipdascript.
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