Rose Namajunas is one of the most talented and successful female fighters of all time but that is not what she really aspires to be.
The strawweight champion is set to defend her belt in an eagerly anticipated rematch with Weili Zhang at UFC 268 on November 6. Ahead of that bout, Namajunas has explained that despite all of her success in MMA she is yet to fulfill her ultimate “life purpose”.
“The more I’ve learnt about myself, I’ve realised that’s just who I am [gardening]. That is my ultimate life purpose,” Namajunas told BT Sport. “Obviously I’m a martial artist and that’s primarily what I do most of the time, but I’m working towards becoming a farmer. I’ve been saying it since I was in kindergarten and they asked us what we wanna be when we grow up. It’s just ingrained in me. I’ve always had a love for nature and animals, and I think it’s always been there. I’m doing it more and more as I become older.” (Transcribed by Sportskeeda)
Namajunas is doing well in MMA which she appears to consider secondary in her life. The 115lb title holder boasts the most impressive resume which includes a pair of wins over former champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Tecia Torres, Michelle Waterson, Paige VanZant, Angela Hill, Jessica Andrade and of course her most recent win over Zhang.
Rose Namajunas Gets Heat For ‘Better Dead Than Red’ Comment
The Lithuanian-American faced criticism in the build-up to her first fight with Zhang which took place at UFC 261. Namajunas appeared to add a pollical element to the bout by using the anti-communist phrase “better dead than red” when discussing Zhang who hails from China.
Despite the controversy she caused the trash talk seems to have worked perfectly as Zhang has since admitted she was off her game at UFC 261.
“I think it definitely affected me a little bit,” Zhang told Ariel Helwani ahead of UFC 268. “The comments that Rose made, I think she was successful in making the audience boo me. But I think that’s my own problem because I should be concentrating on the fight and not the audience. I can’t control who the audience likes. So I’m becoming more focused on my own fight.”
Are you surprised to hear Rose Namajunas wants to be a farmer?