5 biggest takeaways from UFC on ESPN 59: Who had biggest breakthrough performance in UFC’s birthplace?

Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Luana Santos (red gloves) celebrates after defeating Mariya Agapova (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

24-year-old Luana Santos looked like a seasoned veteran in easily dismantling and submitting Mariya Agapova in their preliminary-card matchup.

Santos (8-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) had little trouble taking Agapova to the mat and threatening with multiple submissions before locking in a rear-naked choke to seal the deal in less than four minutes. It was impressive work, and exactly what someone who is looking to make a mark in the women’s flyweight division should’ve done.

That’s no disrespect to Agapova, but she was coming back from a significant knee injury and a career-long layoff and hadn’t won since 2021. Santos winning the way she did makes us start to take her seriously, and if she can do that with someone who is a level up from Agapova, she’s going to be trending toward contender status.

Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Montal Jackson (red gloves) celebrates after knocking out Da’Mon Blackshear (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Montel Jackson produced the highlight-reel finish that could soar him into the top 15 of the bantamweight division, which is arguably the toughest to crack of any in the UFC.

Jackson (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) stormed out of the gates against Da’Mon Blackshear and delivered an 18-second knockout that extended his winning streak to five and gave him the all-time record for most knockdowns landed in divisional history, among other achievements.

Despite all those accolades, Jackson has flown under the radar for some time. You can see why given his reluctance to call out specific names in his post-fight interview with Paul Felder, but this performance in particular did the talking for him.

Jackson deserves a big opportunity coming off of this knockout, because at 32, this needs to be where he starts to make his run toward the top, if it’s ever going to happen.

Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Charles Johnson (blue gloves) knocks out Joshua Van (red gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Charles Johnson delivered another surprising moment in the flyweight division when he derailed the rise of highly touted prospect Joshua Van with a brilliant third-round knockout.

Many people, myself included, designated Johnson (16-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) as a very tough guy with middling skills when he went through a three-fight losing skid early in his UFC tenure. He’s since rebounded with three consecutive victories, however, in two of which he was a sizeable betting underdog.

Johnson was competitive through two rounds with Van then came out and got the finish to start out the final frame in what felt like a definitive turning point for his career.

It remains to be seen how far Johnson’s grit and determination can take him in the 125-pound rankings. He’s still never been finished, and now he’s proven himself multiple times over.

Jul 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Drew Dober (red gloves) bleeds from above his eye while fighting Jean Silva (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

You’ve almost certainly seen Drew Dober’s cut by now, and if you hadn’t before scrolling here – well, apologies.

I’ve seen the inside of his head enough to last a lifetime at this point, and there’s no doubt it was one of the most gruesome gashes in recent years.

The gore is understandably attractive to many, but it all came courtesy of the man who really deserves our attention: Jean Silva.

Silva (13-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) was brilliant in the lead-up to the fight being stopped by the doctor in the third round. He was piecing Dober up and in a flow state with his striking. He dished out flying knees, spinning elbows and more to batter and rock his Dober throughout the fight, and it was an impressive way to beat one of the most tenured fighters in the lightweight division.

But that’s not even the part that deserves the most praise for Silva. He did all of it on a two-week turnaround from his UFC 303 finish of Charles Jourdain, and at a weight class where he previously hadn’t competed in the octagon (though he missed weight against Jourdain).

Add in the fact that Silva is arguably the most unusual personality on the UFC roster at present, and we seem to have something here with this guy.

Rose Namajunas isn’t used to being the grizzled veteran facing the surging contender when she steps into the octagon. That’s what made her main event with Tracy Cortez intriguing.

The fight itself wasn’t all that intriguing, however, because Namajunas quite effortlessly handled Cortez over the course of five rounds to what felt like a lopsided decision, although judge Eric Colon somehow found two rounds to score in favor of Cortez.

Nevertheless, this was a proving point with Namajunas in the women’s flyweight division. The former two-time UFC strawweight champ is here to stay in this new division, and she’s not going to be an easy fight for anybody going forward.

Namajunas’ history in this sport is going to keep her in close proximity to the title, but she’s still got some work to do. We have to see the trilogy between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko, whether it happens at Noche UFC in September or not. Then Manon Fiorot, who beat Namajunas in her lone divisional defeat, has next dibs on the title shot.

Unfortunately for Namajunas, that kind of leaves her back where she started, and that’s a fight with Maycee Barber. She was originally supposed to face Barber in this headliner before health issues led to Cortez stepping in. It’s unknown what Barber’s availability is going to look like moving forward, so it’s hard to know if that’s next.

It should be if the UFC can make it, though, and for Namajunas it will be an even more comfortable position after fending off another hungry rising name.