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Andreas Hale, ESPN
Former two-time UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas will headline the UFC’s return to Denver on July 13 when she faces Maycee Barber in a flyweight fight with championship implications.
UFC president Dana White announced Tuesday the two will clash at Ball Arena for a UFC Fight Night event and that the winner will likely be in line for a title opportunity against the winner of champion Alexa Grasso‘s expected title defense against Valentina Shevchenko later this year.
Namajunas is 1-1 during her tenure as a flyweight after spending much of her career in the strawweight division, where she captured championship gold on two occasions after being the runner-up on “The Ultimate Fighter 20.” After dropping the title in a decision loss to Carla Esparza in May 2022, Namajunas made the jump to flyweight in 2023.
Namajunas fell short in her debut against Manon Fiorot but bounced back with a unanimous decision victory over Amanda Ribas in March.
Barber is riding a six-fight winning streak and has been on a roll since losing a decision to current flyweight champion Grasso in 2021. Barber is coming off of a decision victory over Katlyn Cerminara in March and is knocking at the door for a title opportunity.
She’ll have to get through Namajunas to get that call.