When Rose Namajunas broke silence on fan-made drama with Paige VanZant after she went bald to "make a statement"

Rose Namajunas is among the most well-known female fighters in mixed martial arts and currently competes in the UFC's women's flyweight division. Intriguingly, Namajunas was once forced to clarify that her decision to go bald was "somewhat of a statement" before her fight against Paige VanZant.

Namjunas and VanZant were two of the most exciting prospects on the strawweight roster when they featured in the main event of UFC Fight Night 80 in December 2015. 'Thug' ultimately won the fight via fifth-round submission to win a 'Performance of the Night' bonus.

Days before the fight, Namajunas decided to shave all of her hair off and sport a bald look. This sent ripples across the MMA community, and many wondered whether Namajunas was trying to send VanZant a message. However, Namajunas later revealed she wasn't trying to diss '12 Gauge' and was simply trying to avoid the hassle of dealing with loose hair during a fight.

In an interview with Thomas Gerbasi for the UFC, she said that she wanted female fighters to be able to go bald without being judged harshly. She stated:

"Man, I was just sick of it. I’m always damaging it in wrestling and I’ve got to pull out a clump of it when I wash it after practice. It’s just a big nuisance... As a female fighter, I think we tend to put more pressure on ourselves... There was a lot of backlash for Paige, and people took it out of context as if that was a slam on her. It’s not like that. But I do feel like it is somewhat of a statement." [H/T UFC.com]

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Rose Namajunas explains decision to continue at flyweight ahead of Amanda Ribas fight

Rose Namajunas recently explained her decision to continue fighting at flyweight despite losing her divisional debut against Manon Fiorot last September. Namajunas is set to face Amanda Ribas at UFC Vegas 89 this weekend.

Ahead of her second flyweight fight, Namajunas spoke to the press on media day and revealed that she planned to become a two-division champion. 'Thug' is notably a former two-time strawweight champion.

Speaking to the media, she explained that she's looking to get into the title picture with a win over Ribas and said:

"Becoming two-division champ this year would be awesome. But I know that's a steep mountain to climb and I've had some setbacks so I've got to be realistic. But I do believe that that's very realistic."

Catch Rose Namajunas' comments below (4:18):