Report: Barber-Namajunas to headline UFC Denver in July
A women's flyweight bout between Maycee Barber and former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas will serve as the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on July 13 in Denver, sources told MMA reporter Ariel Helwani.
The UFC has yet to officially announce the Denver event.
Barber enters the matchup on the longest winning streak of her UFC career, having won six straight. The 25-year-old Colorado native is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Katlyn Cerminara at UFC 299 in March and has also beaten the likes of Amanda Ribas and Andrea Lee during that stretch. Barber, who entered the UFC in 2018 as one of the top prospects in women's MMA, hasn't lost since falling short to current 125-pound champion Alexa Grasso in 2021.
Namajunas is 1-1 since moving up to the women's flyweight division from 115 pounds, where she twice held the UFC belt. "Thug Rose" suffered a decision loss to Manon Fiorot in her debut last September but rebounded with a win over Ribas in a UFC Fight Night main event in March. Namajunas, 31, was born in Wisconsin but fights out of Colorado.
Barber and Namajunas are ranked Nos. 4 and 6 in the division, and the winner will be in range for a title shot. Barber is set to compete in her first UFC main event.