Rose Namajunas is well aware that a lot of UFC fans are skeptical of her run in the flyweight division.
Namajunas is a legend of women’s MMA. Almost all of her pro career has occurred in the UFC. In the Octagon, she is a two-time strawweight champion, with wins over Zhang Weili (twice), Joanna Jedrzejczyk (twice) and Jessica Andrade. She may just be the best fighter in the strawweight division’s history.
However, after losing her strawweight belt to Carla Esparza in an utterly dreadful fight in 2022, Namajunas decided to move up to the flyweight division.
It’s fair to say she has not been as successful at flyweight as she was at strawweight. She is 2-2 since switching divisions.
In her first fight in the new weight class, she lost a decision to Manon Fiorot. She then scored back-to-back decisions over Amanda Ribas and Tracy Cortez. She then suffered another decision loss to Erin Blanchfield. That was her last fight.
It’s fair to say she has not looked like the fighter who knocked out Zhang and Jedrzejczyk at strawweight.
Fans have let her know.
Namajunas has a chance to quiet her doubters this Saturday, in the co-main event of UFC Atlanta.
Rose Namajunas addresses doubters before UFC Atlanta
Namajunas is set to meet Miranda Maverick in Saturday’s co-headliner. Ahead of the fight, she took the opportunity to address fans who don’t like her move to flyweight.
Apparently, she feels a lot better than her haters think she looks. And to be honest, that’s all the matters.
“I feel great,” Namajunas told UFC.com. “Obviously, I know a lot of people and critics will be like, ‘Ah, she’s not the same at flyweight as she was at strawweight.’ Maybe the results haven’t been quite the same. I am definitely not the same. I feel like I am better in a lot of ways and I am definitely more mature and stuff like that.
“I’m just at a different place in my life, and [fighters] have put me through mental battles and struggles, [maturing me through those challenges],” Namajunas concluded. “So, as much as people care about the fighting, results, and stuff—I do too—but the spiritual strength I have in my life right now outweighs anything. I know it sounds crazy or cliché. I really do feel better, and I hope to show that in this fight.”
How do you think Rose Namajunas will look in her next flyweight fight at UFC Atlanta?
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