Rose Namajunas’ UFC return, flyweight move questioned: ‘It really is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen’
Rose Namajunas, a former two-time undisputed strawweight champion, has seen her impending flyweight division debut and UFC Fight Night Paris return dissected by the undefeated, Tatiana Suarez – with the grappler lamenting a failed dream pairing with the ex-gold holder.
Namajunas, the current number two ranked strawweight contender, has been sidelined since she co-headlined UFC 274 back in May of last year in Phoenix, Arizona – suffering a forgettable unanimous decision loss to former-foe, Carla Esparza – dropping her strawweight title to The Ultimate Fighter winner.
And slated to make her first outing since suffering her second title loss last summer, Namajunas, a staple under the tutelage of both partner, Pat Barry, and head coach, Trevor Wittman, is booked to feature on the main card of UFC Paris in September – taking on the surging top-contender, Manon Fiorot on enemy territory.
Rose Namajunas’ impending move to flyweight has been broken down
Sharing her thoughts on Rose Namajunas’ incoming 125 pound debut, Suarez, who herself made a stunning Octagon return from injury earlier this year, lamented missing a fight with the Wisconsin native, however, questioned the reasoning for her flyweight leap.
“It’s really the craziest thing I’ve ever seen, I’ve been wanting to fight her (Rose Namajunas),” Tatiana Suarez said during an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. “Because, I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m back to 115 (pounds) – maybe I could fight Rose,’ and it’s like, she’s going back to 125 (pounds). I’m like – [it’s] crazy.”
“Whenever I say I want to fight her, it’s not because I want to go beat her up, or something like that, I don’t like her,” Suarez continued. “I just think she’s such a good fighter. Like, I’ll watch her and I’m like, amazed because how great she is.”
11-5 as a professional, Namajunas, who has twice captured undisputed gold at the strawweight limit, holds notable wins over the likes of Angela Hill, Paige VanZant, Tecia Torres, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Michelle Waterson-Gomez, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Jessica Andrade, and current champion, Zhang Weili.
