Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 59 card is likely to look much different than originally planned.
This includes two bouts that were added late to the lineup: a bantamweight showdown between Montel Jackson and Damon Blackshear and a women’s flyweight showdown between Jasmine Yasdavicius and Fatima Klein. The promotion recently confirmed the dates for the bouts on its website. Yasdavicius was originally scheduled to face Bibiane Araujo, but the Brazilian withdrew from the bout.
UFC on ESPN 59 will take place at Denver’s Ball Arena and will feature a 125-pound showdown between Rose Namajunas and Tracy Cortez as the main event, one of six bouts that have been rescheduled or canceled outright as Cortez takes the place of Maycee Barber.
Jackson has won her last four promotional appearances, most recently defeating Rani Yahya in the first round at UFC Fight Night 222 in April 2023.
Meanwhile, Blackshear’s two-fight win streak was ended when he lost a unanimous decision to Mario Bautista at UFC 292.
Canada’s Jasdavicius has won three of her last four UFC fights. The Dana White’s Contender Series alumnus earned a third-round submission win over Priscila Cachoeira at UFC 297 in January of this year.
Klein comes into her UFC debut with a 6-0 record: The 23-year-old New York native won her first four bouts under the Invicta FC banner before going on to win the Cage Fury Fighting Championships 125-pound title.
