Count the women’s flyweight division as another on the seemingly growing list of UFC weight classes that feel somewhat stalled and confusing at the moment.
While this weekend’s return to Ball Arena in Denver features a pair of critical matchups in the 125-pound ranks, the reality is the outcome of the main event pairing between Rose Namajunas and Tracy Cortez is unlikely to do anything to help clear things up, as the key issue at the moment is the murky championship situation.
When Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko were announced as opposing coaches for Season 32 of The Ultimate Fighter, most anticipated a date for their championship trilogy fight would soon follow, especially with the promotion bringing Noche UFC to The Sphere as a numbered event (UFC 306) in September.
As of this writing, nothing has been confirmed and Grasso has spoken openly about being willing to move face another contender if the former champion isn’t ready to resolve things this fall. Odd as it may sound, that might be the best thing for the division as a whole, as additional time with the title on the shelf would only further exacerbate the current problems.
The duo battled to a controversial draw last September at the first Noche UFC event, which meant that Grasso retained the title she had won in March and a third bout between the two was all but guaranteed. Coaching this season of the long-running reality TV competition afforded both sides time to let lingering injuries heal and for further intrigue in the bout to build.
But we’re now at a point where a date for the two to settle their differences and get things moving forward again is desperately needed, because whenever the title picture is held up, there is a tendency for things to get back up amongst the contenders as well, and that is precisely what has happened here.
Manon Fiorot defeated Erin Blanchfield in Atlantic City at the end of March to stamp herself as the No. 1 contender. Unbeaten in the UFC, a championship opportunity is the only thing that makes sense as a next step for “The Beast,” but with Grasso-Shevchenko 3 still only an idea, the 34-year-old is stuck on the sidelines waiting to see how things shake out.
This weekend, Namajunas faces off with Cortez in a pivotal pairing in the division that could gum things up even further.
After losing to Fiorot in her flyweight debut last fall in Paris, the two-time strawweight champion Namajunas registered her first win in the flyweight ranks in March by besting Amanda Ribas over five rounds. Originally scheduled to face surging contender Maycee Barber this weekend in her adopted hometown, a dominant effort would leave “Thug Rose” with only a few names that make sense for her next.
Should Cortez turn this short-notice switch into the biggest victory of her career, extending her UFC winning streak to six and her overall run of success to an even dozen, she too has to be considered on the title mix, not far behind Fiorot in a back with the likes of Barber, Blanchfield, and ascending Brazilian Natalia Silva.
Ideally, a few more key matchups come together in the final third of the year, with Blanchfield returning to action, Barber returning to full health, and, most importantly, something being figured out in terms of the title picture, one way or another.
CANADA’S JASUDAVICIUS SEEKS SECOND WIN OF THE YEAR
The main event isn’t the only intriguing flyweight matchup on the docket this weekend in Denver, as Canadian Jasmine Jasudavicus returns to action, welcoming newcomer Fatima Kline to the Octagon for the first time.
After dominating Priscila Cachoeira at UFC 297 in Toronto at the start of the year, the 35-year-old Jasudavicius was initially scheduled to face off with Brazilian veteran Viviane Araujo in a matchup where she was facing someone ahead of her in the rankings, with the chance to climb higher up the divisional ladder with a win. But Araujo was forced out of the pairing, and now instead of facing a Top 15 stalwart, she’s squaring off with a dangerous new arrival in Kline.
Signed last week to compete on the upcoming season of Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS), Kline is one of the top emerging talents in the sport — an unbeaten 23-year-old sporting a 6-0 record who earned “Double Champ” status under the CFFC banner earlier this year by adding the company’s strawweight title alongside the flyweight belt she won back in November. A teammate and training partner of Blanchfield, “The Archangel” has looked like the kind of live wire talent that could hit the ground running upon arriving on the big stage, so it will be interesting to see how she handles her unexpected short-notice debut and facing off with a gritty, proven foe like Jasudavicius this weekend.
While Jasudavicius has switched roles this week with the change in opponents, the stakes remain high.
Becoming the first person to defeat Kline, even on short notice, would be a massive feather in the cap of the Niagara Top Team representative and give her another push forward; maybe not in the rankings, but certainly in terms of her overall momentum and standing within the division.
As for Kline, the opportunity to waltz in and knock off a ranked opponent right out of the chute is rare for a newcomer, but she’s proven to be a top talent on the regional scene and could continue to raise the bar for herself this weekend by turning aside the Canadian.
OTHER NAMES TO KNOW THIS WEEKEND
Changes are the theme of this card, as there were a total of six matchups that underwent a shift or were cancelled entirely ahead of Saturday’s event, which airs on Sportsnet.
One of the beneficiaries of the injury bug taking a bite out of this card is Brazilian Jean Silva, who jumps up a division to face off with popular action fighter Drew Dober in a main card lightweight matchup. A member of the DWCS Class of 2023, Silva posted his second stoppage win of his rookie campaign just two weeks ago at UFC 303, flooring French-Canadian Charles Jourdain with a tight uppercut early in the second round of their preliminary card engagement.
Featherweight Chris Rodriguez is happy to fly under the radar, preferring to allow his work in the Octagon to speak for him. But the talented Milwaukee native has registered four straight victories since dropping his short-notice debut, bouncing Raul Rosas Jr., Cameron Saaiman, and Isaac Dulgarian from the ranks of the unbeaten in each of his last three outings. “CeeRod” faces veteran Julian Erosa in a potentially combustible pairing this weekend.
Joshua Van has already registered three wins in as many starts since earning a short-notice call to the Octagon last summer. After a number of recent opponent changes and fight cancellations, the 22-year-old steps in with Charles Johnson for what should be a solid “measuring stick” matchups for the promising flyweight prospect.
After landing his UFC contract on the second season of Contender Series, Montel Jackson has methodically worked his way into dark horse status in the talent-rich bantamweight ranks. The 32-year-old is 7-2 overall inside the Octagon, arriving in Denver for his pairing with Da’Mon Blackshear on a four-fight winning streak and coming off a first-round knockout win over Rani Yahya in his most recent outing.