Rose Namajunas is riding high after defeating Tracy Cortez last night (Sat. July 13, 2024) in the main event of UFC Denver from Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
The former Strawweight champion largely dominated her opponent, knocking down Cortez in the first then out-wrestling her for most of the fight. On the whole, it was the best performance yet of her three-fight Flyweight career, the kind of victory that inspires confidence in her ability to challenge for 125-pound gold.
Now that Namajunas is riding a two-fight win streak in her new division, a title shot is on her mind. In fact, Namajunas told ESPN after her main event win that she wants to fight in her parents’ home country of Lithuania.
“I had this vision, I want to fight in Lithuania one day,” Namajunas said (via MMA Fighting). “Bring the UFC to Lithuania, and I would love to rematch Manon [Fiorot] or anybody for the belt, whatever. That’s my dream come true, but anything that the UFC has in mind, I’m cool with as well.”
Unfortunately, recent history has demonstrated that it’s difficult to get UFC to leave the Apex, let alone venture to entirely new countries beyond their usual markets. Current UFC champions like Dricus Du Plessis and Ilia Topuria has pushed hard for UFC events in South Africa and Spain, but so far, there’s been little announced progress in making either of those shows happen.
On the bright side, Namajunas has another possible target: the inaugural women’s BMF belt. As a fight-finisher and contender in two separate divisions, Namajunas would appear to have a reasonable argument for a title that doesn’t quite exist yet.
“I don’t know, I was just joking actually,” Namajunas said, explaining her post-fight BMF callout. “But I know Joanna [Jedrzejczyk] says she would come back for a women’s BMF, so that would just be for fun. I love her. I don’t know, I think I was just kind of joking there. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Ultimately, Namajunas has options after her UFC Denver win. She’s in good position to challenge for Flyweight gold sooner than later, standing at most one more victory from a title shot.