Rose Namajunas learning the grass isn’t always greener
Rose Namajunas is one of the most talented women’s fighter of all time. The former strawweight champion, Namajunas was the one to dethrone the long-reigning champion Joann Jedrzejczyk. But times have not always been perfect for “Thug” Rose. Her move to 125 has not been as cut and dry for the former two time champion.
The fall of Rose Namajunas
Rose Namajunas seemed destined for greatness and longevity in the sport. After beating Jedrzejczyk for the title, she returned with a win in the rematch in an incredibly close fight. Her next fight was a routine title defense against Jessica Andrade. She was destroying the heavy hitting Andrade in the fight until this happened:
The reign of Rose had ended almost as soon as it began. Understandably, Namajunas took some time off. Her return saw a new reign begin, that of Weili Zhang. First Namajunas had some business to attend to: avenging the Andrade loss. She did that with relative ease.
She was given a second shot at a title. That ended with a spectacular knockout of the first ever UFC Chinese champion. Namajunas, as she always does, gave a rematch and won that via split decision.
Next in line was the former champion, Carla Esparza, who had battled her way through contenders to make it to the top again. The fight saw Rose Namajunas just…not fight. The boring affair saw an insanely low output that had Namajunas staring at Esparza from across the cage all five rounds. Namajunas was decided to be the loser. Again, her title reign was cut short. This time, with a whimper.
New life at 125?
After her uninspiring loss to Esparza, Rose Namajunas contemplated her career and where to go next. She departed with her long-time coach Trevor Wittman and her fiancée, Pat Barry, took over coaching.
Namajunas and her team decided to move to flyweight and chase gold in a second division. Given her reputation and relationship with the UFC brass, she was given a shot at the top early.
Ranked number three, Manon Fiorot would be her first test. In the fight, Fiorot kept Namajunas on the end of her jab and, with a broken pinky, Namajunas was severely handicapped. She lost the fight decisively.
With that setback, Namajunas returned six months later, this time against Amanda Ribas, a strawweight fighter in her own right, for a 125 main event showdown. Ribas brought all she could to Namajunas, giving “Thug” Rose a tough time. Fortunately, Namajunas made it out that fight with a win. The win saw her catapult to the sixth ranked fighter in the women’s flyweight division.
Is Namajunas slowing down?
Facing Tracy Cortez this weekend at UFC Denver, a big question surrounding the fight is: “Is Rose Namajunas slowing down?”
Originally scheduled to face Maycee Barber, a much tougher challenge, a fight with Cortez gives Namajunas another fight to get her feet under her in her new division.
Tracy Cortez is no walkover. 5-0 in the UFC, Cortez is coming in on short notice and wants to break her way into the elite of the division. Namajunas will have to be on her P’s and Q’s come fight night in Denver.
Namajunas will have to decide if she actually wants to fight. After her loss to Fiorot and the close fight with Ribas, Namajunas is finding out that the grass is not always greener on the other side. 115 is a very talent rich division. 125 is proving to be similar.
For some time, Rose Namajunas has seemed like she just does not want to fight. She’s hinted at retirement in a few of her previous fights. As she gets older, she’s 32 now, her skills and speed will wain. The competition will catch up. Having her foot out the door is not a way to continue her career. That’s where legends get damaged and their illustrious career tarnished.
