Photo by Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
After losing her Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s Strawweight title to Jessica Andrade at UFC 237 this past May via knockout (see it), Rose Namajunas hinted at the possibility of retiring from the hurt business.
Six months later, and Namajunas has given fight fans an update regarding her fighting future. During a recent interview on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, “Thug Rose” revealed that after going back to her roots, she came to the conclusion that she still has plenty to do in the fight game.
“I’ll fight again. It’s one of those things where…and I’m going to get a little emotional,” said Rose while holding back the tears. “I lost the passion for martial arts and fighting. Mainly for fighting, but, I found my passion again. I went back to Minnesota to see one of my first, only of my earlier coaches from early on in my amateur career, Greg Nelson. He is such a huge inspiration for me,” she added.
Indeed, Nelson is one of the most respected head trainers in MMA, leading the charge over at The Academy, former stomping grounds of ex-Heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar. For Rose, having a much-needed reunion with Nelson proved to be the starting point for her MMA comeback.
As far as why she felt retiring was an option, Namajunas reveals that the rigors of going through the paces of such a demanding sport when your heart isn’t fully in it took a toll on her.
“And it’s been tough. I think the reason I wanted to retire was because this isn’t a job where you can go in half ass and not be fully passionate about what your doing because, you know, there have been times where I have not been totally confident in myself going into a fight and I just pull it off, and pull through it or push through it with injuries or being sick,” she said.
“This last time it was extra scary because of what could have happened to me, when you’re pushing through something when you’re not 100-percent. I think I thought that because I wasn’t sure if I really was 100-percent into it,” added Rose regarding her loss to Jessica, her first in three years.
“Of course, fighting is all I know and it’s what I have been doing since I was a little kid. So it is hard to think of doing anything else. But at the same time, I lost the passion for martial arts. And I think I found it again just going back to Minnesota and reconnecting with someone like Greg Nelson, who is one of the most realest martial artist in the game. Just getting the passion again reignited.”
Prior to losing to Andrade, Rose was riding a three-fight win streak, which included back-to-back wins over former longtime division champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk. As far as a comeback date and opponent, that is yet-to-be determined.
Care to offer up a suggestion or three?