Rose Namajunas looked to continue her path toward a title shot in a second weight class, and she accomplished that with a win over Tracy Cortez in the main event of UFC Fight Night Denver.
Namajunas got off to a strong start nearly right away, dropping Cortez with a jab a couple of minutes into the fight. The former two-time strawweight champion seemed to be landing at will, and that trend continued as the fight entered the second round.
Midway through the frame, however, Cortez looked to take Namajunas down and secure a choke. "Thug Rose" worked her way through the grappling, however, battling with her own wrestling before returning to her fairly dominant striking performance.
The veteran seemed to have an all-around dominant showing in the third round, grinding out with a takedown and her own unsuccessful choke attempt. Meanwhile, on the feet, the ex-strawweight kept her distance, keeping herself out of Cortez's range as she continued to fire off.
Namajunas continued this throughout the fourth round. Her late-notice replacement opponent brought pressure in the fifth round, but at that point Namajunas was in cruise control and Cortez was unable to get the finish.
Namajunas won a unanimous decision, with two 49-46 cards and a 48-47.
Fans React As Rose Namajunas Takes Clear-Cut Decision Win In UFC Fight Night Denver Main Event
Namajunas is now 2-1 since moving up to flyweight. The former strawweight champion defeated Amanda Ribas in March following a debut defeat in the division to Manon Fiorot last September in Paris.
Cortez, who took this main event bout on short notice, sees a 10-fight win streak snapped.