With the Main event done, now is time to rewatch and review it.
Round 1: Namajunas found her range and timing early in the fight, which resulted in her getting a knockdown with a jab. Namajunas's jab was a major weapon in the first round, as it caused problems for Cortez and allowed Namajunas to choose her way of attack. Namajunas was also switching stances to keep Cortez guessing and landing nice strikes out of either stance. Clear first round for Rose 10-9.
Round 2: This was a close round between Namajunas and Cortez. Namajunas speed and combinations when she threw them were her best weapons, but Cortez looked better in some exchanges, landing big. Cortez shoots a takedown and gets to the back of Namajunas, but Namajunas is able to reverse and get Cortez up against the cage. Namajunas was able to land an outside trip late in the round but didn’t do much with it. I felt Namajunas won the round, but it was a much better round for Cortez. 20-18 Rose
Round 3: Namajunas hits another outside trip early in the round after some pressure from Cortez. Namajunas gets to full mount and holds Cortez there until Cortez is able to create space and reverse it with help from the cage. Namajunas moves to the back of Cortez up against the cage, but Cortez stands up and turns it into a clinch and is able to turn Namajunas up against the cage. Cortez tries an inside trip but cannot get it. Namajunas uses the momentum to push Cortez up against the cage and ends up on top of Cortez on the ground. Namajunas is able to hold her down until the last 40 seconds, when Cortez gets up, and they both separate and go back to striking. Namajunas lands a nice front kick to end the round. Another round for Namajunas. She mixes the martial arts well with her striking and getting takedowns, which is meant to be Cortez’s game. 30-27 Rose.
Round 4: Namajunas is able to keep landing the outside trip on Cortez, who doesn’t have the answer. Namajunas takes the back, but Cortez is able to stand up and get it back to striking. Cortez shoots for an outside trip late in the round and gets her to the ground, but Namajunas gets to the cage and stands up before the end of the round. Probably Cortez’s best round so far. She upped her aggressiveness and was trying to land significant strikes. Namajunas is playing it safe with her striking and her takedowns. I still had it for Rose. 40-36 Rose
Round 5: Cortez starts strong by going for it with the strikes. She knows she needs a finish to win, and you can see she was trying to get one. Namajunas is fighting smart with very light strikes to keep Cortez away and not allow her to try something big. Namajunas is able to get another takedown in the fight but isn’t able to hold Cortez down, so she gets her up against the fence on the feet. Cortez starts landing some big strikes, but nothing that hurts Namajunas. The last two rounds were Cortez’s best rounds as it was clear Namajunas was playing it safe, and she clearly won the first three. I would give this round to Cortez purely based on actually doing stuff in the round. It was smart of Namajunas not to get caught up in the fight, but she wasn’t doing much in this round besides light-tapping strikes.
FINAL SCORING: Overall I scored the fight 49-46 for Namajunas as she was the better fighter overall. She played it safe once she knew she had it in the bag. This fight was a learning lesson for Cortez. For short notice against a former champion it wasn’t uncompetitive and she gave a good account of herself. Rose looked good early in the first 3 rounds when mixing up her striking and wrestling. I think her next fight should be them rerunning Maycee Barber.
