Rose Namajunas News

Russell Ess - November 2, 2017

The UFC 217 pre-fight press conference took place on Thursday ahead of the stacked fight card taking place this weekend at the Madison Square Garden in New York. UFC 217 features three title fights. UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping will take on Georges St-Pierre in the former welterweight champion’s first fight back since 2013. UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt faces former teammate and former champion TJ Dillashaw and UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk looks to tie Ronda Rousey‘s UFC record for most consecutive female title defenses against Rose Namajunas.

Justin Golightly - October 25, 2017

As if we needed to have November 4th’s stacked UFC 217 card sold to us, we’re just a couple of weeks away and the promotional engines are firing on all cylinders. Cody Garbrandt just probably had his best verbal performance of his career and is convincing us all a fight with Demetrious Johnson is next. Meanwhile, Joanna Jedrzejczyk is cutting at Rose Namajunas deep on the UFC 217 conference call, but was it too harsh? “Hey, listen to yourself, you didn’t want to do media, you didn’t want to do extra media — how are you going to be a champion and deal with all the things? You know what, you are not strong mentally. You are mentally unstable and you are broken already and I will break you in the fight. This country’s been amazing to me. I think that you have some personal problems, and I will show you what’s your problem, OK? You’re never going to be a champion.” — Joanna Jedrzejczyk on today’s UFC 217 conference call. 

Justin Golightly - October 21, 2017

After putting her entire division on notice with an intense interview, Joanna Jedrzejczyk seems to be at the height of her confidence coming into her fight with Rose Namajunas in November. The title challenger won’t be moved though, even during their chilling staredown, Namajunas didn’t move an inch. She’s said she will not be one of Jedrzejczyk’s many opponents who lose before they even step into the cage. That won’t stop the UFC strawweight champion from trying though. Check out these murderous elbows and Jedrzejczyk’s next message to her opponent. New York City ‼️ Are You Ready ⁉️ @katelkubis & @mikebrownmma #strawweightqueen #joannachampion #joannajedrzejczyk #ufc217 #AndStill #ChampCamp #ATTnation

Justin Golightly - October 10, 2017

It was last Friday when probably the most intimidating women’s fighter on the planet stomped across the stage to stare into Rose Namajunas’ eyes. She’s basically dominated every UFC strawweight title hopeful in violent fashion. She’s known for her staredowns. Sometimes she’ll crouch down in some sort of animalistic way, making sure her face is glaring right into her mostly shorter opponents. However, things weren’t exactly the same at the UFC 217 press conference. Joanna Jedrzejczyk tried to shoot her laser glance at Namajunas but she just stood there, staring right through her. She didn’t seem intimidated, she seemed focused and cold. Rose Namajunas recently spoke about not being beat before the fight even starts. “I think that they almost lose the fight [with Joanna Jedrzejczyk] before it even starts. You see that with all the greatest in the world or all the greatest of all time. They all have this intimidation factor and it’s for a reason. It’s not just, ‘Oh, they play mind games.’ They can smell it off of them. They’re not joking around. I think that a lot of the opponents she’s faced, not all of them, but they’re afraid of her and it shows.”

Russell Ess - April 17, 2017

UFC strawweight Michelle Waterson lost for the first time in the UFC over the weekend. Waterson met Rose Namajunas at UFC on FOX 24 and was submitted in the second round by a rear-naked choke locked on by Namajunas.

Tom Taylor - April 17, 2017

Last weekend, in the co-main event of UFC on Fox 24, strawweight star “Thug” Rose Namajunas scored an epic win over the game Michelle Waterson, dropping her with a second-round head-kick, and finishing her off with a rear-naked choke. With this win, Namajunas seems to have earned herself a shot at the winner of Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Jessica Andrade’s upcoming strawweight title fight, which will serve as the co-main event of UFC 211 on May 13 in Dallas, Texas. On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Namajunas weighed in on the possibility of a strawweight title fight – particularly on a potential showdown with the current champ Jedrzejczyk, who does not seem to be a fan of hers.

Tom Taylor - April 16, 2017

Last night, in the co-main event of UFC on Fox 24, fan favorite strawweight “The Karate Hottie” Michelle Waterson stepped onto the canvas with the ever-dangerous Rose Namajunas. Had she won this fight, she likely would have earned herself a shot at the winner of Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Jessica Andrade’s strawweight title fight, which is scheduled for UFC 211 this May 13. Regrettably for Waterson and her legions of fans, it was simply Namajunas’ night.

Tom Taylor - April 16, 2017

Last night, in the co-main event of UFC on Fox 24, strawweight star Rose Namajunas dominated the dangerous Michelle Waterson to a second-round submission win, establishing herself as the division’s top contender as she did. Having done so, she can now probably look forward to a fight with the winner of UFC 211’s Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Jessica Andrade title fight sometime later this year – at least, that’s her hope. Speaking to the media in the moments after UFC on Fox 24, Namajunas explained that her goal is to capture the UFC strawweight title before the year is out.

Chris Taylor - April 15, 2017

UFC on FOX 24 Results: Michelle Waterson vs. Rose Namajunas A key women’s strawweight fight between Michelle Waterson and Rose Namajunas served as the co-main event of tonight’s UFC on FOX 24 fight card in Kansas City.

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2017

This weekend, in the co-main event of the UFC’s trip to Kansas City, Michelle Waterson and Rose Namajunas will collide in a crucial strawweight contender bout. The winner of this fight could well earn the next crack at the winner of Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Jessica Andrade’s UFC 211 title fight – at least, that’s what the champ Jedrzejczyk thinks. “I believe that the winner of the fight between Michelle Waterson and Rose Namajunas will be my next opponent,” the champ told Fox Sports. “I will be watching this fight.”

Russell Ess - April 11, 2017

Michelle Waterson will be looking to pick up her third straight win in the UFC this weekend as she takes on Rose Namajunas in the co-main event of the UFC on FOX 24 card taking place in Kansas City, Missouri.

Tom Taylor - March 20, 2017

This May, in the co-main event of UFC 211, dominant UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk will attempt to make the fifth defense of her title against dangerous Brazilian contender Jessica Andrade. While Jedrzejczyk’s victory against an opponent of Andrade’s caliber is far from guaranteed, she is already looking ahead to her next challenge as UFC strawweight queen. On a recent episode of The MMA Hour, Jedrzejczyk explained that, if she beats Andrade, she expects her next challenger to be “The Karate Hottie” Michelle Waterson. For this to happen, Waterson will first have to defeat the ever-dangerous Rose Namajunas, who she’s scheduled to fight this April.

bjpenndotcom - January 10, 2017

Rose Namajunas has been absent from the Octagon following her UFC 201 split decision loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz back at UFC 201 in July. The loss snapped a 3-fight win streak for Namajunas which saw her defeat Angela Hill, Paige VanZant, and Tecia Torres following her TUF 20 Finale loss to Carla Esparza in 2014. Following her loss to Kowalkiewicz, Namajunas headed to Indonesia where she spent quite a bit of time breaking the cycle of daily life in Denver, Colorado. During a brief return to Colorado this week, Namajunas spoke on The MMA Hour to discuss her training with top ranked women’s bantamweight Valentina Shevchenko, her next potential fight, and her growth as a fighter, saying:

Tom Taylor - January 6, 2017

Long-time strawweight contender Rose Namajunas is currently riding a loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and she knows just who she wants to fight to bounce back from that loss. The ever-entertaining strawweight has been vocal in her desire for a fight with “The Karate Hottie” Michelle Waterson, who scored a first-round submission win over Paige VanZant last month. Waterson, of course, isn’t the highest ranked opponent Namajunas could have called out. Claudia Gadelha and Jessica Aguilar both enjoy a higher station in the strawweight division. According to Namajunas, however, Waterson is a more marketable opponent than either Gadelha or Aguilar, which is why she called her out.

Tom Taylor - December 19, 2016

On Saturday night, in the main event of UFC on Fox 22, former Invicta Fighting Championship atomweight queen Michelle Waterson scored a huge win over highly regarded prospect Paige VanZant. Waterson earned this win by putting VanZant to sleep with a first-round rear-naked choke. In victory, the former Invicta champ continues her march up the UFC strawweight rankings, where a plethora of exciting matchups await. Though the UFC’s matchmaking team has a long list of potential matchup options to consider when booking Waterson’s next fight, a recent callout from one of the division’s top fighters might have made their job a lot easier. That fighter is Rose Namajunas, a former title challenger who currently holds the number-four spot in the divisional rankings.