Mile High Meh | Ep. 307

The denizens of the Mile High City get the honors of playing host to the UFC this weekend, with local former champ Rose Namajunas (ranked #6) in a headliner against flyweight dynamo Tracy Cortez (ranked #11).Namajunas (12-6) seems to have had some struggles as of late, especially with that very strange bout against Carla Esparza in which she lost her strawweight title. upon moving up to 125lbs immediately after that, she struggled against French threat Manon Fiorot in a decision loss. While she finally was back in the win column with a win over Amanda Ribas, it’s not unreasonable to wonder if we’re seeing some decline in her overall game. On the other hand, Cortez struggled to make weight and did so after an emotional ordeal in which she had to cut her hair. It’s been a tough road since Cortez was scheduled to fight next week, but she is stepping in for Rose’s original opponent Maycee Barber. She only lost by submission once in what was her pro debut against Cheri Muraski way back in 2017, and looks to continue her undefeated UFC run and to break into the top ten with a win here. But there’s some other good stuff on this card. Muslim Salikhov faces Santiago Ponzinibbio, and blazing Brazilian prospect Jean Silva meets Drew Dober. Joshua Van has been a breath of fresh air, and he’s got a stiff test against Charles Johnson at flyweight. There’s some… less interesting stuff here that the Denver crowd will have to pay a hefty ticket fee to watch, but at least it’s not an Apex card. Listen as we try to be as kind as possible with what’s on offer and genuinely hyped for some actually great fights. Download, listen, enjoy, and be ready to give Mick Maynard a pat on the head for doing a not-bad job this time. Sean Shelby can get a pat too.Let’s take a look at the bouts and some fun factoids:UFC Denver* Rose Namajunas  vs.  Tracy Cortez 125 lbs* Santiago Ponzinibbio  vs.  Muslim Salikhov 170 lbs* Drew Dober  vs.  Jean Silva 155 lbs* Gabriel Bonfim  vs.  Ange Loosa 170 lbs* Christian Rodriguez  vs.  Julian Erosa 145 lbs* Cody Brundage  vs.  Abdul Razak Alhassan 185 lbs* Joshua Van  vs.  Charles Johnson 125 lbs* Jasmine Jasudavicius  vs.  Fatima Kline 125 lbs* Montel Jackson  vs.  Da’Mon Blackshear 135 lbs* Luana Santos  vs.  Mariya Agapova 125 lbs* Josh Fremd  vs.  Andre Petroski 185 lbs* Evan Elder  vs.  Darrius Flowers 170 lbsUFC Denver Fun Factoids* Ranked fights: 1* Ranked fighters: 3* Fighters coming off losses: 11 + 1 NC* Contender Series alumni: 9* TUF alumni: 5* Debuting fighters: 1We sincerely hope you'll give us your patronage and keep listening. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to reach out. Thank you all so very much. We appreciate every one of you.Level Change Podcast is a reader & listener-supported publication. Please consider becoming a paid member for bonus episodes and other fun perks, as well as for some ice cream money. Because we love ice cream. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit levelchangepodcast.substack.com/subscribe