Rose Namajunas is a 32-year-old UFC fighter who fights in the flyweight category. She is a force to be reckoned with and has had 13 wins with 6 losses till now. She is set to fight Tracey Cortez in her next bout at UFC on ESPN 59 and the 13th-ranked fighter is training hard now. The two-time UFC strawweight champion with two amazing title defenses trains with her long-time coach and husband Pat Barry.

Their relationship has raised a lot of eyebrows in the MMA world, yet she is diligent in her training with him and Trevor Wittman. Let’s see her workout routine, her relationship with her coach, and more.

Who is Rose Namajunas’ coach? Where does she train?

She has an exciting and unique fighting style along with a likable personality that makes her a fan favorite. She joined the Roufusport gym in Milwaukee after high school where she had met Barry, who was training at the facility as well. Not only did he fall in love with her and now they have been in a relationship for almost a decade, but he has made a big contribution to her career as well.

He helps her with her training and can be seen in her corner during fights. The former UFC heavyweight was the one who introduced ‘Thug’ to her recent coach, Trevor Wittman, who is also the coach of welterweight Kamaru Usman and Justin Gaethje. Wittman is highly regarded in boxing and MMA as a coach. He is also the owner of ONX fitness equipment and trains high-level UFC fighters.

However, Wittman was not present by her side in the Paris fight, even though he has been a constant support for the Milwaukee native. From her debut to the Ultimate Fighter Season 20 in 2014, he has been in her corner. She had cleared all the doubts fans had at that time by saying that she did not want to interfere with the BMF coming up for Justin Gaethje, who was also taking help from Wittman.

Both Wittman and Barry have trained her, and she won two strawweight titles under their tutelage. It is safe to say that Rose Namajunas and her coaches make a good team and surely both Barry and Wittman will be by her side for this match.

Why was Trevor Wittman not in Rose Namajunas’ corner?

There was a time when Wittman was not seen in her corner in Paris, but Namajunas cleared the reason for that. Wittman has been instrumental in Namajunas’ rise in UFC and he trained her after Barry had shown a video of her sparring. He saw her immense potential and decided to take her under his wing. Unfortunately, there was one time when Namajunas did not have Wittman by her side. During her fight in Paris with Manon Fiorot, she did not have a long-time coach in her corner. Fans were speculating about the anomaly and many suggested that it might have been because of her coach and fiancé, Pat Barry.

However, ‘Thug’ Rose cleared the misconception and talked about it in the Instagram live session. She said that she was offered the fight when Wittman was already in training camp with Justin Gaethje for his BMF fight against Dustin Poirier. She claimed that it was not because of her long-time boyfriend and husband, but for a different reason and she did not want to interfere with the BMF camp.

It is known to the UFC world that her relationship with Pat Barry has been the subject of a lot of talks all the time, so let’s take a look at their relationship.

A look at Rose Namajunas and Pat Barry’s relationship

The former strawweight champion who was born in 1992 is 32 years old as of 2024. She met her husband Pat Barry at the Roufusport Gym and was reportedly 14 years old when she joined the gym for training. Barry was also training in the same gym and she had come up to her and punched him square in the face in their first meeting. The duo who has a 13-year age difference started dating 10 years ago, and he also has been training her for her UFC career.

The couple got engaged in 2014 when Namajunas was 22 and even though they have been in a romantic relationship for more than a decade, the precise timeline and origin of the relationship is still shadowed with controversy. Ignoring the rising eyebrows of fans, Barry once explained how he had fallen in love with her. During an interview with Ariel Helwani, after Rose lost at UFC 274, he addressed the claims that were always made about the relationship. Barry revealed that the misconception about the relationship started from an interview that Namajunas had given many years ago, where she said that she was 14 years old when she joined the gym.

Barry said, “That’s where everyone is getting this sh*t from, a botched interview. That’s where everyone is getting all that from because someone decided to write it that way.” Even after all the backlash and controversy and even venom spewed from entities like Sean Strickland, the couple is still going strong.

Do you think that in her latest fight, both Barry and Bitman will be in her corner supporting her? Let us know in the comments below.