Where is Rose Namajunas' family from? Explaining her 'Better dead than red' comment about Zhang Weili

Rose Namajunas' ethnicity has, in some cases, been a point of interest for MMA fans. While the two-time UFC women's strawweight champion is American, having been born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, her parents are Lithuanian. For those unfamiliar with it, Lithuania is a Baltic country.

It is located on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordering Russia to the southwest. This has led to numerous political clashes between Lithuania and Russia, most notably when the latter was still the Soviet Union and a proponent of communism. And the impact it had on Namajunas' family cannot be understated.

Her great-grandfather, Juozas, served in the Lithuanian military, fighting in the resistance forces during the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states in 1939. Following the Soviet Union's retreat from the Baltic states, Juozas had a brief moment of reprieve, retiring to enjoy his life as a civilian.

Unfortunately, during the Soviet Union's subsequent re-occupation of Lithuania, Juozas was arrested and sent to a prison camp, before being ultimately put to death by Soviet KGB agents. This has had a profound impact on the Namajunas family.

Despite growing up on American soil, the former UFC women's strawweight champion is still in touch with her Lithuanian heritage. She frequently visits her family's home country and is an adept speaker of the Lithuanian language, which she uses when interacting with her grandparents.

While Namajunas rarely voices her political opinions, she has been the most vocal when discussing the harrowing events that her family underwent in Lithuania, which ultimately contributed to her parents moving to the United States in the early 90s.

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Rose Namajunas once used the Soviet oppression of Lithuania as a talking point ahead of UFC title fight

Rose Namajunas' family experienced the full brunt of the tragedy caused by the Soviet occupation of Lithuania. However, she once drew criticism for equating a UFC title fight with then women's strawweight titleholder, Zhang Weili, to the larger struggle between communism and freedom.

Zhang, for reference, is a citizen of the People's Republic of China, a one-party state ruled by the Communist Party of China (CPC), representing a Marxism-Leninism ideology adapted to Chinese socioeconomic conditions. While Zhang has been apolitical, she was nevertheless targeted by Namajunas.

Ahead of their UFC 261 title fight, Namajunas claimed that Zhang represented 'red,' a color often used to symbolize communism, to which she infamously said, 'Better dead than red.' She later clarified that her statements were not meant as a personal attack on Zhang, but stemmed from transgenerational trauma.

Zhang herself dismissed Namajunas' claims, and despite the criticism the latter drew for her remarks, it soon faded after she twice defeated Zhang.