UFC Denver has come and gone, with Rose Namajunas coming away with her second straight win at flyweight in the main event. While Tracy Cortez proved game, stepping in on short notice for Maycee Barber, “Thug” Rose proved too formidable a challenge. Where does the former strawweight champ stand now? Let’s take a look.
Rose Namajunas
With her UFC Denver main event win over Tracy Cortez, Rose Namajunas notched her second victory as a flyweight, which will likely push her ahead of Jessica Andrade and into the top five. At the fourth spot sits Maycee Barber, and so the matchmaking is simple. Namajunas vs Barber was already slated to be the main event for Denver before Maycee suffered an injury, so as a title eliminator bout there are not many more obvious.
Namajunas’ Next Fight: Maycee Barber
Muslim Salikhov
As a forty-year-old welterweight, Muslim Salikhov surely does not have many more UFC fights left, but he is making the most of his remaining time with his latest win, a split decision over Santiago Ponzinibbio. Now with two wins in his last five, Salikhov is well-positioned to fight someone like Max Griffin, who has less seniority in the division but is 3-2 in his last five, one better than Muslim.
Salikhov’s Next Fight: Max Griffin
Jean Silva
Fighting Nerds’ Jean Silva showed himself to be an extraordinary talent with his win over former ranked lightweight Drew Dober. By moving up a weight class to completely outclass such a fighter only two weeks after knocking out another talented fighter in Charles Jourdain, Silva has forced everyone to take notice of him. In his next fight, back at featherweight, he should face a fringe-ranked opponent like Sodiq Yusuff. Yusuff just got bounced from the top-fifteen after several years with a number next to his name, so if Jean can get past him then the twenty-seven-year-old will truly be ready for the bright lights.
Silva’s Next Fight: Sodiq Yusuff
Gabriel Bonfim
By beating Ange Loosa by decision at UFC Denver, the younger Bonfim brother not only bounced back from his first career defeat successfully, but proved that he can go three full rounds without gassing out, which is what lost him his last fight. Now with a 3-1 record in the UFC, Bonfim is ready to fight a more divisionally relevant opponent like Jake Matthews. The Australian fighter has been in the UFC for a decade with twenty fights under the promotion, having won almost have of them. A name like that being on his resume would give Bonfim a good argument to face a ranked opponent soon, especially if he wins in impressive fashion.
Bonfim’s Next Fight: Jake Matthews
Julian Erosa
Erosa’s submission victory over Christian Rodriguez was his second straight win by guillotine and helped him bounce back from two straight knockout losses before that. With a record of 7-3 in this, his second run with the UFC, Erosa is not just one of the most entertaining fighters on the roster but also has become quite the dangerous foe at featherweight. He is not quite at the point to fight a ranked opponent, but if he can beat another good fighter impressively then he may just be. A good fighter for example, like Andre Fili.
Fili is just coming off a win over Cub Swanson which earned ‘Fight of the Night’ and a fight between Erosa and he has all the hallmarks of being another on paper. Both men are known for entertaining striking duels but both have the grappling ability to make things interesting on the ground as well. With a finish or performance bonus in six of seven UFC wins, Erosa is known for that type of entertainment above all else.
Erosa’s Next Fight: Andre Fili
Cody Brundage and Abdul Razak Alhassan
These two unranked middleweights fought to a no-contest on Saturday as an elbow from Alhassan which hit Brundage in the back of the head was ruled to be accidental. When Brundage could not continue, the fight was called off. There is really no other path to take other than a rematch. Not even one minute of fight time had elapsed before the stoppage, so there is much that fans still want to see out of this bout.
Brundage and Alhassan’s Next Fight: Brundage vs Alhassan 2
