Rose Namajunas Thinks She’s The Only Real Title Contender
It has yet to be confirmed that No. 4-ranked UFC strawweight Rose Namajunas will receive the next shot at the division’s crown, however, the fact that “Thug” was brought to Dallas to witness tomorrow’s (Sat. May 13, 2017) title bout spells that she is likely next in line.
Namajunas comes off of a big win over No. 6-ranked Michelle Waterson after submitting “The Karate Hottie” in the second round via rear-naked choke. The victory marked only the sixth win of the 24-year-old’s young mixed martial arts (MMA) career.
After open workouts yesterday (Thurs. May 11, 2017) in Dallas, Namajunas got the opportunity to talk to reporters and discuss possibly challenging for the title next. “Thug” believes it’s only fitting she fights for the gold next, because – who else is there? (quotes via MMA Junkie):
“I guess who else is there, really?” Namajunas said. “You got Claudia (Gadelha) and Karolina (Kowalkiewicz), but they already fought the champ once before – and Claudia twice, so I don’t know. It just seems fitting.”
Current division champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk is looking to make her fifth consecutive title defense when she meets No. 3-ranked Jessica Andrade in to co-main event of tomorrow’s UFC 211 pay-per-view (PPV).
When asked for a prediction, Namajunas said she’s putting her money on the champ:
“I see Joanna probably winning,” Namajunas said. “Joanna, I think, is just the better technical and overall complete fighter.”
As noted, Namajunas is still fairly young in her MMA career as she has not even competed in 10 professional fights yet. She had the opportunity to become the youngest champion in UFC history when she challenged Carla Esparza for the inaugural women’s strawweight title back in 2014, however, she unfortunately suffered a submission loss.
After having racked up some more experience inside the Octagon, Namajunas feels as though that experience will pay dividends once she gets her second crack at the belt:
“When you think about my age, my experience level in just fighting, itself – those things combined – I wasn’t supposed to really be to the level at which I was at at that age,” Namajunas said. “Not based on history in other fighters. If I would have won against Carla, I would have been the youngest champ in the UFC ever, beating Jon Jones, and he’s young. I think that right now it means a lot to me to be experienced, not just as a fighter, but as a woman.”
“Even with my zombie self sometimes, I’m a dangerous mother(expletive), I tell you that,” Namajunas said. “But just when I’m mentally right, there’s no one that can beat me.”
