Rose Namajunas News

Cole Shelton - March 20, 2024

Rose Namajunas is focused on fighting at flyweight as she believes she can become champion in the weight class. Namajunas is set to headline UFC Vegas 89 on Saturday against Amanda Ribas where she will look to rebound from the decision loss she suffered to Manon Fiorot back in September. That bout had marked ‘Thug’s’ first fight at 125lbs, this after she lost a lackluster decision to Carla Esparza to drop the promotion’s strawweight title.

Cole Shelton - March 20, 2024

In the main event of UFC Vegas 89, former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas takes on Amanda Ribas at flyweight. Heading into the fight, Namajunas is a -235 favorite while the Brazilian is a +180 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the main event. The pros believe Namajunas will be too much for Ribas on the feet and get the victory to return to the win column.

Harry Kettle - February 16, 2024

UFC star Rose Namajunas will serve as a fight consultant on upcoming movie Strawweight. With each and every passing year, mixed martial arts continues to grow. Of course, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been one of the big reasons for that, as the promotion continues to evolve.

Josh Evanoff - January 10, 2024

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas will face Amanda Ribas in March. ‘Thug Rose’ has been out of the cage since a move to flyweight in September. For her first bout up at 125 pounds, Rose Namajunas faced the rising Manon Fiorot. The former champion hoped to hand the contender her first loss on home soil, at UFC Paris. Instead, she suffered yet another setback.

Harry Kettle - September 5, 2023

UFC star Rose Namajunas has explained why Trevor Wittman wasn’t in her corner at UFC Paris last weekend. On Saturday night, Rose Namajunas made her flyweight debut as she went toe to toe with top contender Manon Fiorot. While she put up a valiant effort, she ultimately fell short and lost via decision. One of the reasons for that, as many now know, is due to the fact she suffered a broken finger early on in the contest.

Susan Cox - September 4, 2023

Former MMA champion Josh Thomson is pleading with Rose Namajunas to stop ‘sabotaging’ her career. UFC Paris saw Rose Namajunas (12-6 MMA) and Manon Fiorot (11-1 MMA) battle it out in the women’s flyweight event this past Saturday night, September 2nd, at the Accor Arena in Paris, France. It was Fiorot who would come out with a unanimous decision victory over ‘Thug’.

Harry Kettle - September 4, 2023

UFC star Rose Namajunas has posted a picture of the broken finger she suffered at UFC Paris last weekend. On Saturday night, Rose Namajunas made her flyweight debut as she began her pursuit of a second world title in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Unfortunately, she fell to a unanimous decision loss at the hands of Manon Fiorot, with one of the biggest problems during the bout being a broken finger she suffered in the first round. Despite the injury, her corner insisted that she should continue, and she did.

Chris Taylor - September 2, 2023

Today’s UFC Paris event was co-headlined by a key women’s flyweight matchup between Rose Namajunas and Manon Fiorot. Namajunas (12-6 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since losing the strawweight title to Carla Esparza at UFC 274 in May of 2022. Prior that setback, ‘Thug’ was on a three-fight winning streak, which included back-to-back victories over reigning strawweight queen Zhang Weili.

Josh Evanoff - August 30, 2023

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas has reflected on her loss to Carla Esparza. ‘Thug Rose’ is slated to return to the cage in the co-main event of UFC France this Saturday. There, Rose Namajunas is expected to face Manon Fiorot in her first fight up at flyweight. For the former champion, the fight will be her first in over a year, since her UFC 274 rematch with Carla Esparza.

Susan Cox - August 30, 2023

Rose Namajunas is explaining the approach she would take in a potential fight with friend and training partner, Valentina Shevchenko. UFC Paris will see Rose Namajunas (12-5 MMA) and Manon Fiorot (10-1 MMA) battle it out in the co-main event.

Fernando Quiles - August 14, 2023

Rose Namajunas has given her reason behind moving up to the women’s flyweight division. Namajunas is a two-time UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion. Her exit from the 115-pound division wasn’t exactly ideal. Namajunas suffered a split decision loss against Carla Esparza in a bout that was widely panned for its lack of activity. “Thug” Rose lost the strawweight championship, and she’s hoping a move up to flyweight can shed the negativity from her last outing.

Josh Evanoff - July 31, 2023

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas nearly retired last year. ‘Thug Rose’ has been out of action since her rematch with Carla Esparza last May at UFC 274. The bout took place eight years after their previous contest at The Ultimate Fighter Finale 20. That night in 2014, ‘Cookie Monster’ dominated Rose Namajunas, winning vacant strawweight gold by submission.

Josh Evanoff - June 23, 2023

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas will face Manon Fiorot in September. ‘Thug Rose’ has been out of the cage for well over a year, last competing last May. There, Rose Namajunas attempted to make yet another title defense against Carla Esparza. However, the two ended up putting on one of the worst bouts in promotional history at UFC 274.

Fernando Quiles - May 21, 2023

Mackenzie Dern is riding high after her dominating win over Angela Hill, and she’s now targeting Rose Namajunas. Dern promised a more aggressive approach ahead of her UFC Vegas 73 showdown with Hill. Dern delivered as advertised, turning up the heat with her striking, having relentless pressure in the grappling, and actively going for the finish throughout the fight. While Dern couldn’t secure the submission she was hoping for, she did earn a unanimous decision victory to keep her top 10 strawweight ranking safe.

Harry Kettle - January 6, 2023

Michael Bisping believes Rose Namajunas’ recent submission loss to Gillian Robertson could explain her UFC 274 title defeat. During her career, Rose Namajunas has provided fans with two of the greatest title wins in UFC history. Her triumphs over Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Zhang Weili, simply put, were both remarkable in their own sense.

Lewis Simpson - November 7, 2022

Rose Namajunas explained why she bravely decided to address her childhood sexual abuse trauma in her new documentary. Despite showing a ferocious and aggressive side to herself inside the Octagon, it’s no secret that the former strawweight queen is the opposite outside the cage.

Susan Cox - November 3, 2022

Rose Namajunas claims she got what she needed out of the Carla Esparza rematch. Namajunas (11-5 MMA) and Esparza (20-6 MMA) originally met in December of 2014 in the women’s strawweight main event. It was to be Esparza defeating Rose by submission at 1:26 of Round 3. Esparaza became the first strawweight champion in Ultimate Fighting Championship history.

Josh Evanoff - October 5, 2022

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas is branching out into modeling. ‘Thug Rose’ has been out of action since her fight with Carla Esparza in May. The bout was a rematch of their first encounter at The Ultimate Fighter Finale in 2014. In their first outing, Esparza picked up a third-round submission victory to become strawweight champion.