Rose Namajunas Confirms She’ll Fight Again
Rose Namajunas isn’t done fighting just yet. The former UFC women’s strawweight champ opened up on her future yesterday (Mon. November 11, 2019) during an interview on “The Ariel Helwani MMA Show.””
Namajunas hasn’t fought since her May defeat to Jessica Andrade in Brazil, where “Thug” lost the 115-pound strap. Namajunas was winning the fight in dominant fashion until suffering a freak slam knockout loss to Andrade.
After the defeat, Namajunas admits she lost her passion for mixed martial arts (MMA), but believes she’s found it again and is confident she’ll step back into the Octagon. (H/T MMA Junkie)
“I’ll fight again,” Namajunas said. “And you know it’s kind of one of those things where you get a little emotional. But it’s like I lost the passion for martial arts and fighting – mainly for fighting. I found my passion again.
“I went back to Minnesota to see one of my former coaches from earlier on in my amateur career, Greg Nelson. He’s just like a huge inspiration for me.
Namajunas also explained how she believes she allowed the title to define her during her time as champion.
“I made it into everything I didn’t want it to be,” Namajunas said. “I didn’t want the belt to define me and all I did was make it define me. That was all that was on my mind every day. Even though it was not even in my own house. It just consumed my every thought. It turned into a shackle and chain rather than just loving fighting.
“Do I want to be the best? Of course. But I don’t need a belt to tell me that I’m the best. I already know. It was like, weird. It was all of my fears and all of the things I didn’t want to happen ended up happening by just fearing it so much.”
Currently, the strawweight division is run by Chinese sensation Weili Zhang. Zhang took out Andrade with a first-round TKO in front of her native Chinese crowd. Namajunas was impressed by Zhang’s performance, and wants to test herself against the champion.
But whether that’s her next fight, or down the road, Namajunas isn’t stressing over it.
“Weili looked great and I always want to fight the best,” Namajunas said. “Clearly, she is (the best) right now. But you know? I want to test myself against her.
“But at the same time, whether that be this next fight or get a win under my belt and go after that? I really have no preference at the moment. It doesn’t matter who I fight, but you should always have your eye on being the best.”
Who would you like to see Namajunas fight next?
