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Rose Namajunas is set to fight reigning UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili at UFC 261, with the title on the line.
Ahead of her championship fight, Rose Namajunas opened up on multiple topics in an interview with UFC. Thug Rose ranked what she believes are the five best performances of her MMA career so far.
“Top five Rose Namajunas performances – I would say, you know, number one, my last performance (vs. Jessica Andrade at UFC 251). Number two, winning the belt (vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217). Number three, defending the belt (vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 223). Number four, say, maybe my UFC debut (vs. Angela Hill at UFC 192), post-TUF. And flying arm-bar finish in Invicta (vs. Kathina Catron at Invicta FC 5).” said Rose Namajunas. (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
The fight ranked No.1 by Rose Namajunas was her split decision win against Jessica Andrade at UFC 251 (July 2020). The fight witnessed Namajunas avenge the second-round KO loss she suffered against the Brazilian fighter at UFC 237 (May 2019).
Namajunas then added that the second-best performance of her career was her first-round TKO win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217 (November 2017). Thug Rose won the Women's Strawweight Title on this occasion.
Rose ranked her unanimous decision to win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 223 (April 2018) as her third-best performance inside the octagon. Namajunas successfully defended her title in this fight, which was regarded as one of the best fights in MMA history.
At No.4 on Thug Rose's list was her first-round submission win over Angela Hill at UFC 192 (October 2015). This fight was Namajunas’ debut on the UFC main roster after her time on the popular reality show TUF (The Ultimate Fighter).
Namajunas concluded her Top Five performances list with her first-round submission win over Kathina Catron at Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson (April 2013).
Rose Namajunas aims to reclaim UFC gold at UFC 261
Rose Namajunas is on a quest to regain the UFC Women’s Strawweight Title. Namajunas lost the title to Jessica Andrade at UFC 237 (May 2019).
Andrade lost the title to Zhang Weili, who then successfully defended the title against Jedrzejczyk. Namajunas became the No.1 Contender for the title after she defeated Andrade at UFC 251 (July 2020).
Namajunas took her feud with Zhang to a personal level after making some controversial comments about China and Communism. Zhang brushed off the jibe by labeling it as a joke.
The UFC Women’s Strawweight division is regarded as a highly competitive weight class. It would be interesting to see if Namajunas would be able to dethrone Zhang, who has been a dominant presence in the division.
