UFC Strawweight contender Rose Namajunas spoke to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani via ESPN MMA post-fight, following her decision victory at UFC 251. ‘Thug Rose’ secured a victory in her rematch against Jessica Andrade in the inaugural event at Yas Island. The performance has brought her one step closer to contention for the 115-pound championship.
Namajunas lost her gold strap to Andrade via slam at UFC 237 in a fight she was dominating. Throughout the duration of the fight, Rose Namajunas dictated the pace and put forth dominant striking. Moreover, she almost secured a kimura trap on ‘Bate Estaca’ before being slammed into the canvas.
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Rose Namajunas: “She’s really technical”
The former champion gave her insights on the immediate rematch as she looks back at her main card performance. The Colorado native aired out her views on a potential title fight with the strawweight queen Zhang Weili.
“Ever since I saw her fight Tecia, I’ve been kind of scouting her out a little bit. I think it’s going to be a beautiful display of Mixed Martial Arts. She’s a master, I’m a master; It’s gonna be really cool.”
Namajunas’ partner and head coach Pat Barry went on to drop a significant revelation as he chimed in. Barry said that the ‘Thug Rose’ fight camp began training for the champion in the hospital one hour after the UFC 251 scrap with Andrade. Given her enthusiasm, it’s clear that Rose can’t wait to contest for gold.
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“I would love to fight her, she’s awesome. She’s really technical and really strong, overall she’s a master. That’s something that interests me a lot.”
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Fight fans and pundits would feel safe to predict that a potential match-up between the two would be a technical slug-fest. Both women are unafraid to let their hands go whilst still maintaining caution for technique. Additionally, the winner of the bout may well go down as the consensus best fighter at that weight class.
Rose Namajunas would have a tall task ahead of her in the form of the Chinese champion Zhang Weili. ‘Magnum’ has been a tyrant in the division and displayed nothing but dominance in all her outings.