Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade put on a show on Fight Island
A pair of former UFC strawweight champions met for the second time tonight at UFC 251 on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.
Top 115-pound contenders Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade will go toe-to-toe once again after “Thug Rose” was forced to relinquish her title to the Brazilian in May of 2019 after a slam. Namajunas was winning the fight but once her head bounced off the canvas, Andrade would take home the gold.
The 28-year-old Andrade would then lose the title in her first defense to current champion Weili Zhang. Namajunas seeks to prove tonight that the first fight was just a fluke.
This time around the fight is scheduled for three rounds versus five when the title was on the line. Let’s see how the shorter fight period will impact the night’s outcome.
In the first round, the fight was contested entirely on the feet. No takedown attempts were made. Lot of head movement from Andrade. Namajunas landing the crisper strikes and has the higher percentage of significant strikes landed. First round should be awarded to Namajunas, although it was close.
Round two was more of the same, both fighters standing toe-to-toe, just throwing. Namajunas with the reach is landing more shots and ducking, avoiding, what Andrade is letting loose. Still a very close fight between these two ladies.
The third round was an absolute war. Rose Namajunas is busted open early, eye nearly swollen shut. She gets tossed to the canvas but puts up a triangle choke attempt as defense. They stand, continue to trade, back and forth. Namajunas gets a takedown, Andrade reverses. They slug it out to the bell and UFC President Dana White is on his feet applauding the two women.
