Athletes
Rose Namajunas: ‘I’m Always Doing My Style’
Former Champ Rose Namajunas Hopes To Give Her Adopted Hometown A Highlight To Remember At UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs Cortez
In just 19 professional bouts, Rose Namajunas has experienced the full gamut of the fight game.
From title-winning highlights that will stand the test of time to disappointing performances and defeats that would gnaw at anyone, the thoughtful “Thug” Rose has created an aura all her own. There are few unknowns left to her at this point, but one popped up for her as she got into fight week for her main event bout against Tracy Cortez: She hasn’t ever fought in her adopted home of Denver, Colorado.
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When she sat down for her interview with UFC.com on Tuesday of fight week, Namajunas admitted the energy went from “very comfortable and very chill” to something a little different at the start of the week.
“It all hit me like, ‘OK, we're going to the hotel tomorrow, and this is really happening,’” Namajunas said.
Another newish facet for Namajunas is life in the flyweight division. She made her Octagon debut at 125 less than a year ago opposite Manon Fiorot at UFC Fight Night: Gane vs Spivac in August 2023. After dropping the bout to Fiorot via decision — a fight in which she dislocated a finger in the first round — Namajunas bounced back with a vintage performance against Amanda Ribas earlier this year.
It was the perfect get-back performance for Namajunas and showed how much she can and does fit into the flyweight picture. The move up, which she has called “reinvigorating,” provided just enough of a new challenge to get the fire fueled properly.
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As she looked to make a second appearance in 2024, she was booked opposite Maycee Barber, who is in the form of her young life in the form of a six-fight winning streak. It was the kind of fight that would catapult Namajunas into the title picture at the perfect time, but after Barber pulled out of the fight with an injury, Namajunas changed course to face the up-and-coming Tracy Cortez.
Namajunas acknowledges Cortez’s ranking outside the Top 10 puts less title implications on the fight than it had originally, but she also believes Cortez should be even more highly touted than she already is, with the only hangup being Cortez’s slight inactivity (just five fights since April 2019). Either way, though, Namajunas knows winning fights is the best way to get up the ladder, and she is more focused on herself anyway.
Rose Namajunas | Best Moments
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Rose Namajunas | Best Moments
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“I'm always doing my style, and I feel like my style beats anybody,” she said. “As far as what she brings to the table, it's just a little bit different as she likes to grapple a little bit more than Maycee does, even though Maycee would try to grind up against the cage a little bit more, clinch more. But, it’s very similar, I think, as far as what my intentions are in this fight and what I'm going to do.”
As Namajunas is wont to do, she is maintaining her habit of picking up new, nature-focused hobbies. Her gardening is well-documented although her patch didn’t have the best spring. She was buoyed, however, by her relatively fresh adventure of keeping bees. Beekeeping being a part of Lithuanian culture, she has enjoyed life as a “white belt” at something. After a friend helped her keep some bees last year, she felt like she would be too busy (“like a bee,” she jokes) to keep bees on her own, but when that same friend had a swarm, she was right back into the mix.
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Those things that takes her mind off fighting and onto the world around her, Namajunas says, is what grounds her and lifts her often.
“It's what is what fuels me,” she said. “I have many purposes for fighting, but one of the top priorities in the reasoning and the purpose behind my fighting (is) I fight to become a farmer one day. My whole goal when I was a kid is to be a farmer.”
But, she continues, farming isn’t a cheap hobby, and her love for martial arts and fighting remains as well. On July 13, she is eager to make the walk, feel the energy, and do her thing once she enters the Octagon. Roundly named as one of the most entertaining fighters to compete by fans and peers alike when she is in her flow, Namajunas hopes to do as much against the surging Cortez.
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One of the most intriguing traits of a Namajunas fight is her uncanny ability to surprise everyone around her. Whether it’s a left hook to flatline a previously unbeatable champion or a first-round head kick to become the first two-time strawweight champion, it always feels like a highlight is just around the corner when she steps into the cage. At the same time, it’s all par for the course. This time, the only thing new is she gets to do it in the Mile High City.
UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs Cortez took place live from Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on July 13, 2024. See the Final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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