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Ex-Strawweight champ ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas slams critics claiming she’s too small for flyweight

‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas‘ move to flyweight has been heavily criticized by a plethora of fighters and fans. You can now add former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson to that ever-growing list. Despite capturing the strawweight title on two separate occasions and owning two wins over the division’s current queen, Zhang Weili, Rose Namajunas opted to […]

Despite capturing the strawweight title on two separate occasions and owning two wins over the division’s current queen, Zhang Weili, Rose Namajunas opted to move from 115 to 125 for her long-awaited return at UFC Paris on Saturday. She immediately jumped into the flyweight fire, taking on No. 2 ranked contender Manon Fiorot in the co-main event of the evening.

Namajunas came up short, suffering a unanimous decision defeat with many suggesting that the sheer size difference between the two women played the biggest factor.

“I thought Fiorot was just the bigger fighter and all of her shots had a lot more impact on Rose,” Thomson said on his Weighing In podcast. “I feel like Rose Namajunas is sabotaging her career. Like, what are you doing? She is so talented, and you are considered to be one of the best in the 115-pound division. Why are you going up?

“Maybe it was for one fight — I hope you go back down,” he continued. “You could be the champ again. I mean, if you wanna get motivated, stay motivated, whatever it is. I just feel like she’s sabotaging herself. She doesn’t know how to handle this success or she just doesn’t want to have success around her” (h/t MMA Mania).

What's next for Rose Namajunas after back-to-back losses? pic.twitter.com/1RDZNb9Ii7

— MMA On Point (@OnPointMMA) September 3, 2023

Namajunas Snaps Back at Manon Fiorot’s Post-Fight Comments

Rose Namajunas’ UFC Paris opponent, Manon Fiorot, echoed similar sentiments during her post-fight interview.

“I’m pretty sure she wanted to wrestle me, but for her, it’s impossible to take me down,” Fiorot said. “I think it’s not her category. The flyweights are too strong for her.”

With criticism flying at her from every direction, Rose Namajunas snapped back in a video clip shared by her manager.

“I’m not too small for Flyweight — there’s no way,” a fired-up Namajuas claimed. “I dropped her a**. How am I too small? Maybe I had some moments where I was, like, stumbling over, or I wasn’t totally in position. But I’m like, ‘Dude, you felt no stronger than Weili. You felt no stronger than Weili, and I beat her a** twice.’ So shut the f*ck up. I’m not too small for flyweight.

“You can say anything else,” she added. “You can say you beat me on points, okay? But you can’t say I’m too small for flyweight. And you can’t say that I didn’t win a round because I for sure won at least one round if not two. But, that’s up for debate, right?”

Post fight processing. @rosenamajunas has always kept it genuine and honorable. The mission remains the same. #2divisionchamp pic.twitter.com/RQE4Nc0enO

— Brian Butler-Au (@BrianButler_Au) September 5, 2023

Photo – Rose Namajunas shows off grisly hand injury suffered in bloody UFC Paris loss to Manon Fiorot

Former undisputed strawweight champion, Rose Namajunas fell to defeat in her flyweight divisional bow last night in the co-main event of UFC Paris, however, early in the bout the ex-titleholder complained of a hand issue suffered in the bout – sharing images of a rather nasty and gruesome injury to her smallest finger on her […]

Namajunas a former undisputed strawweight champion under the banner of the promotion, co-headlined UFC Paris last night against promotional-perfect contender, Fiorot – dropping a comprehensive unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) loss to the Nice native over the course of three rounds.

The defeat came as Wisconsin native, Namajunas’ second on the trot, having most recently dropped her strawweight crown in a title rematch against inaugural champion, Carla Esparza back in May of last year – in an admittedly forgettable championship fight.

Coached by long-time partner and former UFC heavyweight contender, Pat Barry during last night’s French outing, Namajunas complained of discomfort in her right hand at the close of the opening round of her bout with Fiorot, appearing to suffer an injury.

Rose Namajunas suffers brutal hand injury in her UFC Paris defeat to Manon Fiorot

And following her decision loss to the bloodied Fiorot – photos of Namajunas’ hand injury in detail were posted across social media.

“This is how Rose Namajunas’ right hand looked last night when she took off her gloves,” Ariel Helwani posted on X. “The injury happened in the first.”

As for Fiorot, the surging French contender has called her shot at the flyweight crown next, eyeing a title showdown against the victor of the upcoming Noche UFC rematch between pound-for-pound number one, Alexa Grasso, and former champion, Valentina Shevchenko – which takes in two weeks’ time in Las Vegas.

Who would you like to see Rose Namajunas fight in her return to the Octagon?

Manon Fiorot defeats ex-Champion Rose Namajunas in bloody back and forth win – UFC Paris Highlights

Turning in the most high-profile victory of her perfect promotional tenure to date, surging French contender, Manon Fiorot has likely earned herself a flyweight title opportunity — securing a unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) victory over the returning former undisputed strawweight champion, Rose Namajunas in the co-main event of UFC Paris. Nice native, Fiorot, who […]

Nice native, Fiorot, who co-headlined tonight’s event at the Accor Arena, was forced to deal with a massive and gurshing cut on the right hand side of her head from the middle of the second round onward, with the French native clashing heads with Namajunas in an unintentional coming together of the striking duo.

Also dealing with some adversity early in the pairing, former strawweight champion, Namajunas complained to her partner and corner person, Pat Barry of a hand injury — particularly to her right smallest finger at the end of the opening round.

Making her flyweight divisional bow, Namajunas was forced the distance for the second outing consecutively, having dropped her strawweight title in a hugely disappointing title fight with Carla Esparza last time round.

And struggling to navigate the striking and timing, as well as the movement and distance control from French favorite, Manon Fiorot, Namajunas was forced to the losing column for the second straight outing, off the back of a decision defeat.

Below, catch the highlights from Manon Fiorot’s decision win over Rose Namajunas at UFC Paris

Calling for a title shot next!@ManonFiorot_MMA looking for the winner of Grasso vs Shevchenko 2 after that #UFCParis performance pic.twitter.com/GYgdOOfdQn

— UFC (@ufc) September 2, 2023

‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas ready to face her fears in flyweight move: ‘I want something that scares me’

After climbing to the top of the strawweight mountain on two separate occasions, ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas is ready for a new challenge. On September 2, the former two-time queen of the 115-pound division will make her first appearance in well over a year as she is set to make her flyweight debut against top-five contender […]

After climbing to the top of the strawweight mountain on two separate occasions, ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas is ready for a new challenge.

On September 2, the former two-time queen of the 115-pound division will make her first appearance in well over a year as she is set to make her flyweight debut against top-five contender Manon Fiorot. The decision to move weight classes comes following her lackluster showing against Carla Esparza in May 2022.

Rose Namajunas walked into the bout with UFC gold and a heap of momentum, but she ultimately came up short, surrendering the strap to Esparza in what many fight fans were quick to call the worst title fight in the promotion’s 30-year history. With plenty of time to reflect on her fall, Namajunas is ready to pick herself up and climb to the top once again. But this time, the view will be significantly different.

Appearing on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Rose Namajunas revealed that her plan to move up a weight class was something she had always thought about. Particularly as she got older and her body began to change, making weight cuts more strenuous with each fight.

“Definitely after the Carla fight [at UFC 274], I think that was—win or lose—I was thinking about doing that anyways,” Namajunas said. “One, my body is changing, I started to mature. Early on in my career I never really cut that much weight up until the last few years. I think maybe when I fought Michelle Waterson, that was when I actually started to really put on size.

“Each fight it’s just been a little bit more and more. Even though I got better at cutting, I also felt like, this can’t be healthy. As much as I got mentally better at it, I think physically, I feel like I’m way stronger now. I also made a little bit of effort to put on a little more size, to actually intentionally get a little bigger and do a little more lifting and stuff and eating.”

Rose Namajunas Has No Interest in Fighting Zhang Weili for the Third Time

Namajunas is admittedly disinterested in a trilogy bout with reigning strawweight champion, Zhang Weili, giving her yet another reason to step out of her comfort zone and try her luck in the promotion’s stacked flyweight division.

“Weili’s the champ now, so what, I fight her a third time? I don’t know, it’s just not every interesting,” Namajunas continued. “I’ve already fought Andrade and this and that and now she’s gone back down… Weili’s the champ, so then I could just beat her again, but I don’t know, to me it’s more than that. I want something that scares me. I want to face my fears. It’s just always been a part of the plan and yeah, I could keep doing the same old thing, but as soon as this game gets redundant, I can get bored really quick and that’s not good for nobody. So I need to keep it fresh and interesting.”

During her time away from the Octagon, Namajunas had received multiple fight offers, but the chance to compete against No. 2 ranked contender Manon Fiorot was the only one that excited her enough to sign on the dotted line.

“I had gotten a lot of fight offers over the course of taking time off and that was the first time where I was like, ‘That sounds interesting,’” Namajunas said when asked about why she chose to fight Fiorot. “I thought about Paris and as much as I don’t like traveling I also don’t like a lot of other things that I also like equally. Of course, I love traveling. There’s so much to learn, there’s so much to see, and that’s just kind of like, ‘Lazy Rose doesn’t want to travel, or Comfortable Rose doesn’t want to travel,’ but all these things help me grow and they expand my horizons.

“I had one of the best experiences going to Abu Dhabi, as much as I feared doing that. Nobody knew what was happening during COVID and all that stuff, it was like the most rewarding experience ever. Even though I smashed my nose, it was also one of the best things that happened ever. As much as I don’t like these things sometimes, I know that this is medicine for me, this is good for me.”

Rose Namajunas on moving to 125lbs.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/Sw0klpBqe2

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) July 31, 2023

Fiorot goes into the bout riding an undefeated record inside the Octagon, with five straight wins against some very serious talent, including Victoria Leonardo, Tabitha Ricci, Mayra Bueno Silva, Jennifer Maia, and Katlyn Chookagian. With a W over Rose Namajunas, Fiorot will undoubtedly be next in line for a flyweight title opportunity.

“Overall, I just think Manon as an opponent is exciting too,” Namajunas said. “She’s a true martial artist. She’s not just a fighter or an athlete. She’s all of those things, but I remember watching her, I think she came off of the Contender Series, ‘She’s pretty badass. She has some real striking skills.’

“I like girls that can strike. I like girls that are overall MMA well-rounded, which she is, but definitely her karate background and her style and everything, even her little attitude, her whole swagger, that’s something that brings out the competitor in me and I love that” (h/t MMA Fighting).

‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas tipped to struggle amidst move to flyweight: ‘I don’t know why she’s coming up’

Scottish standout Joanne Wood believes former two-time UFC strawweight world champion ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas will struggle in her move to the flyweight division. Wood made her promotional debut alongside Namajunas on The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned in 2014. The two women were part of the field of strawweight contenders vying for the […]

Scottish standout Joanne Wood believes former two-time UFC strawweight world champion ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas will struggle in her move to the flyweight division.

Wood made her promotional debut alongside Namajunas on The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned in 2014. The two women were part of the field of strawweight contenders vying for the opportunity to become the first-ever 115-pound champion in the UFC. Wood came up short in her efforts, succumbing to a second-round submission attempt by Namajunas during their quarter-final matchup. Despite the loss, Wood still earned herself a contract with the promotion and proceeded to compete three more times at strawweight before making the permanent move to flyweight.

Speaking with Drake Riggs of MMA Mania, Wood suggested that Rose Namajunas could run into some obstacles at flyweight, referencing her own transition from 115 to 125 in 2018.

“I feel like she will struggle because I know I’ve been in there with these girls and they are like so much bigger than the Strawweights,” Wood said. “In the past, I have struggled with that, but Rose is a completely different fighter to me (laughs).

“I was shocked at that [news],” she continued. “I don’t know why she’s coming up, but she’s made that decision and I’m sure she’ll go with it and walk with it.”

‘Thug’ Rose will make her flyweight debut in September as she meets No. 2 ranked contender Manon Fiorot at UFC Paris.

Rose Namajunas’ move to flyweight is preceded by her unceremonious loss at the hands of Carla Esparza in May 2022. ‘Thug’ Rose surrendered the strawweight world title to Esparza in a bout dubbed by many as the worst title fight in UFC history. Interestingly enough, Esparza also defeated Namajunas in the TUF 20 tournament finals to become the inaugural strawweight champion nearly a decade ago.

Rose Namajunas Will Find Plenty of Competition in a Stacked Flyweight Division

Ready for a brand new setting and a bevy of fresh matchups, Namajunas will be a welcome addition to a flyweight division that has seen a plethora of world-class talent come out of the woodwork in recent years.

“As far as the division itself, it’s crazy to see because when I was coming up I was like, ‘Yep, just watch. In five years, this is gonna be the division,’” Wood said. “Once it kind of settled, everyone was moving up, everyone was moving down. I feel like now we’re in contention with strawweight of being very, very exciting. It’s just great to see it all resolve, everyone find their weight and find all these up-and-comers as well. It’s great, it’s exciting and I’m glad to be a part of it.”

On July 29, ‘JoJo’ will return to the Octagon for a flyweight clash with Brazilian standout Priscila Cachoeira. Wood will look to score back-to-back wins after snagging a split decision victory over Luana Carolina in March.

“I’m excited this kind of fight plays into my game, I feel very well,” Wood said. “I know the fans will love it. Her style is like she’s coming to throw that right hand and land that right hand and that’s perfect. I love that.

“Looking at a technical stance coming from my Muay Thai background, counter and capitalize on that with my kicks and blah, blah, blah,” she added. “The other side of me is like, ‘Man, I just like getting in there and getting bloody.’ I know she’s probably gonna land one, my nose is gonna bleed, but I don’t care. So, it’s gonna bring out that discipline side but also that, ‘You know what? We’re just in a fight.’”

Rose Namajunas’ UFC return, flyweight move questioned: ‘It really is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen’

Rose Namajunas, a former two-time undisputed strawweight champion, has seen her impending flyweight division debut and UFC Fight Night Paris return dissected by the undefeated, Tatiana Suarez – with the grappler lamenting a failed dream pairing with the ex-gold holder. Namajunas, the current number two ranked strawweight contender, has been sidelined since she co-headlined UFC […]

Namajunas, the current number two ranked strawweight contender, has been sidelined since she co-headlined UFC 274 back in May of last year in Phoenix, Arizona – suffering a forgettable unanimous decision loss to former-foe, Carla Esparza – dropping her strawweight title to The Ultimate Fighter winner.

And slated to make her first outing since suffering her second title loss last summer, Namajunas, a staple under the tutelage of both partner, Pat Barry, and head coach, Trevor Wittman, is booked to feature on the main card of UFC Paris in September – taking on the surging top-contender, Manon Fiorot on enemy territory.

Rose Namajunas’ impending move to flyweight has been broken down

Sharing her thoughts on Rose Namajunas’ incoming 125 pound debut, Suarez, who herself made a stunning Octagon return from injury earlier this year, lamented missing a fight with the Wisconsin native, however, questioned the reasoning for her flyweight leap.

“It’s really the craziest thing I’ve ever seen, I’ve been wanting to fight her (Rose Namajunas),” Tatiana Suarez said during an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. “Because, I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m back to 115 (pounds) – maybe I could fight Rose,’ and it’s like, she’s going back to 125 (pounds). I’m like – [it’s] crazy.”

“Whenever I say I want to fight her, it’s not because I want to go beat her up, or something like that, I don’t like her,” Suarez continued. “I just think she’s such a good fighter. Like, I’ll watch her and I’m like, amazed because how great she is.”

11-5 as a professional, Namajunas, who has twice captured undisputed gold at the strawweight limit, holds notable wins over the likes of Angela Hill, Paige VanZant, Tecia Torres, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Michelle Waterson-Gomez, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Jessica Andrade, and current champion, Zhang Weili.