Namajunas may not be next in line for a title shot, but she plans to leave no questions as to her worth as a contender with a win over Erin Blanchfield in Edmonton.
Rose Namajunas returns to the cage for the third time in 2024 this Saturday at UFC Fight Night Edmonton, and she hopes a solid performance against Erin Blanchfield will earn her a women’s flyweight title shot.
Namajunas is ranked No. 5 and is coming into this bout against the No. 3 Blanchfield on a two fight win streak. Add in the star power of “Thug Rose” and you’d almost expect her to get next off a win. The only problem? A decision loss to No. 2 ranked Manon Fiorot, who is 7-0 in the UFC.
“I guess anything’s possible,” Namajunas said of a title shot (video via MMA Junkie). “And yeah, that’s my intention to put on a good performance enough to where there’s no doubt that I could be next.”
“But I still just kinda feel like Manon deserves it next anyways, regardless of what I do,” she added. “You know what I mean? She technically has a [win] over me. I do feel like if that was a five round fight, I think I could have found a way to win. I was finding it towards the end. But it is what it is. If she wins the belt, then it would be great to fight her again. Or have that dream match up with Valentina one day.”
In the end, it’s not Namajunas that makes the call, and if the call came, she’d answer it.
“If the UFC wanted to put me ahead of [Fiorot] with a very spectacular performance, I’d be open to that as well.”
Fighting current champ Valentina Shevchenko would be a dream for Namajunas … and possibly the highest profile women’s fight the UFC could make in the division.
Remember when @RoseNamajunas did THIS to become a two-time UFC champion?!
‘Thug Rose’ returns at #UFCEdmonton on Saturday! pic.twitter.com/FKMjvPSic5
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) October 28, 2024
“She’s definitely always been my favorite female fighter,” Rose said of Valentina. “She’s somebody that I admire a lot and trained with a lot. It’d be hard for me to not just be fanning out like while I’m fighting her, it’d be kind of weird. But as a martial artist, it’d be the ultimate dream just to test myself against one of the cherished martial artists in the game right now.”
One thing Namajunas has over Fiorot is activity. The French “Beast” has fought just once a year for the past two years. Namajunas used to fight sporadically and then disappear for stretches. Since losing to Fiorot in her flyweight debut (and dislocating her finger in the process), “Thug Rose” has had the most active year since coming off The Ultimate Fighter in 2014-2015.
Then there’s also her popularity, which goes a long way in today’s UFC. She’s a two-time champion with wins over some of the most fearsome women at strawweight. That’s earned her a lot of cred, which could cash in off one more big win.
As good and deserving as Fiorot is of a title shot, Namajunas absolutely could steal next at 125 pounds if she puts a beating on Blanchfield in Edmonton this weekend.