Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) strawweight champion Rose Namajunas was in front of the camera for the promotion’s new “Year of the Fighter” series, discussing Conor McGregor’s 2018 bus attack in Brooklyn, one that landed her in therapy.
Relive the madness here.
“It was like an eternity being in that bus, because I had no idea who that was that was attacking us,” Namajunas said (transcribed by MMA Junkie). “All of a sudden I see a big ol’ fist kind of bang on my window and then I see one of the security guards grab one of the dudes. I didn’t know it was Conor until a little bit later. When he threw the dolly, the bus was backing up into the elevator spot as he threw it to the window right in front of me. But had the bus not been moving, it would have hit my window.”
McGregor was attempting to get revenge against lightweight rival Khabib Nurmagomedov after “The Eagle” clowned “Notorious” teammate Artem Lobov during UFC 223 fight week. “Notorious” was later arrested for his role in the attack.
“In my head, once I found out it was Conor, I was a little relieved, but I still was on edge,” Namajunas said. “It just took me back to when I was a kid, riding to school through bad neighborhoods on a bus and people throwing shit at our bus. And I’ve never been completely cornered like that. We were just sitting there not in control. So what did I do in that moment? I said the Lord’s prayer again and then it actually did make me feel a little bit better at that moment, and it got me through that tough moment.”
Despite the lasting effects, the pre-fight Mac attack did little to affect her performance. Namajunas went on to capture a unanimous decision victory over strawweight rival and former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the UFC 223 co-main event.