Rose Namajunas called out by UFC strawweight contender for a clash in Abu Dhabi

Rose Namajunas found herself in the crosshairs of strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez. The Dana White’s Contender Series alumna was present at UFC 275 to witness a crucial matchup between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili.

The UFC president confirmed that the winner of this bout would fight Carla Esparza for the title, which forces other strawweight fighters to form a line in hopes of getting the title shot. The Brazilian fighter knows who she wants to fight to get into the title picture.

During an interview with MMA Fighting, the No.3-ranked strawweight admitted that she asked UFC president Dana White to postpone the fight to determine a challenger for the title.

Rodriguez was asked who she wanted to fight as the title situation would play out between Jedrzejczyk, Weili, and Esparza, to which she replied:

“I don’t see many options in the division. Well, maybe Rose. We’ll see. All I want is a name that gives me an option, an opportunity, for after that to go to fight for a title.” [via translator]

When asked about the potential date of this proposed matchup, the Brazilian suggested October as the perfect month for her. This led the reporter to insinuate that she perhaps wants to fight Rose Namajunas on the Abu Dhabi fight card.

Marina Rodriguez has a 16-1-2 professional MMA record, with her sole loss being a split decision defeat to Carla Esparza at UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till. Since then, she has bounced back and is riding a four-fight winning streak. She most recently defeated Yan Xiaonan at UFC 272 in March.

Watch Marina Rodriguez call out Rose Namajunas in the video below:

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Rose Namajunas was criticized by Zhang Weili for her performance against Carla Esparza

Rose Namajunas’ title fight against Esparza at UFC 274 was considered one of the worst matchups in the history of the sport MMA. The uneventful 25-minute affair brought a heavy dose of criticism to both fighters, and Zhang Weili was one of many to voice her dissatisfaction with what Namajunas showed in the octagon.

The day before her title eliminator against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 275, Weili addressed the media and shared her opinion on Namajunas' performance:

“I feel like, definitely, Rose was feeling a lot of pressure when she stepped into the Octagon. Definitely she wanted to take care of her belt and didn’t want to fight hard, wanted to fight more strategically and more easily against Carla. But, as a champion, as an MMA fighter, you should not think about that. You should always, in the fight, [give] your everything into the Octagon, and fight your heart out.” [via translator]

Watch Zhang Weili talk about Rose Namajunas' performance in the clip below: