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

Rose Namajunas' move to flyweight questioned it's the craziest thing I've ever seen UFC ParisRose 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 […]

Rose Namajunas' move to flyweight questioned it's the craziest thing I've ever seen UFC Paris

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 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. 

Report – Tatiana Suarez books return at UFC Nashville against ex-Champion Jessica Andrade in August

Tatiana Suarez returns at UFC Nashville against ex champion Jessica Andrade in AugustFollowing a successful return from injury back in February in a flyweight division excursion, undefeated grappling ace, Tatiana Suarez has landed a reworked outing for her next clash at UFC Fight Night Nashville on August 5. – taking on former undisputed strawweight champion, Jessica Andrade after initial foe, Virna Jandiroba withdrew from the summer matchup. […]

Tatiana Suarez returns at UFC Nashville against ex champion Jessica Andrade in August

Following a successful return from injury back in February in a flyweight division excursion, undefeated grappling ace, Tatiana Suarez has landed a reworked outing for her next clash at UFC Fight Night Nashville on August 5. – taking on former undisputed strawweight champion, Jessica Andrade after initial foe, Virna Jandiroba withdrew from the summer matchup.

Suarez, who improved to 9-0 as a professional back in February, made a flyweight division bow against Montana De La Rosa, submitting the Montana native with a second round guillotine choke win, landing a Performance of the Night bonus.

As for Andrade, the short-notice replacement, who currently holds the #5 rank in the official strawweight rankings, has yet to return since suffering consecutive stoppage losses to blistering contenders, Erin Blanchfield, and Yan Xiaonan.

Tatiana Suarez remains on Nashville card alongside Jessica Andrade

News of Tatiana Suarez’s return to the Octagon in Tennessee against ex-champion, Jessica Andrade was first reported by MMA Fighting reporter, Damon Martin

Sidelined from the Octagon since June 2019 before her successful outing against De La Rosa back in February, Suarez had racked up a unanimous decision win over Nina Nunes – the partner of former two-weight champion, Amanda Nunes in her last outing.

Winning The Ultimate Fighter 23 back in 2016, Tatiana Suarez defeated Amanda Cooper in the season finale, before securing Viviane Pereira, and then current undisputed flyweight champion, Alexa Grasso, and former two-time strawweight titleholder, Carla Esparza. 

24-11 as a professional, Andrade struck undisputed strawweight gold back in May 2019, stopping former two-time division best, Rose Namajunas with a highlight-reel slam KO victory in her native Brazil.

In other notable Octagon victories, Andrade has defeated the likes of Rosi Sexton, Raquel Pennington, Jessica Penne, Joanne Wood, Angela Hill, Claudia Gadelha, Tecia Torres, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Katlyn Chookagian, Amanda Lemos, and Lauren Murphy to name a few. 

UFC Fight Night Nashville takes place on August 5. from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, with a bantamweight fight between Cory Sandhagen, and Umar Nurmagomedov slated to take main event honors. 

Brendan Allen bumps Darren Till from UFC rankings after submission victory over Andre Muniz

Brendan AllenBrendan Allen now has a number next to his name thanks to an impressive showing at UFC Vegas 70 on Saturday night. Allen found himself in an impromptu main event after the evening’s originally scheduled headliner, Ryan Spann vs. Nikita Krylov, was canceled at the last minute due to an illness suffered by Krylov. ‘All […]

Brendan Allen

Brendan Allen now has a number next to his name thanks to an impressive showing at UFC Vegas 70 on Saturday night.

Allen found himself in an impromptu main event after the evening’s originally scheduled headliner, Ryan Spann vs. Nikita Krylov, was canceled at the last minute due to an illness suffered by Krylov. ‘All In’ made the most of his surprise spotlight by delivering a fantastic performance and scoring a third-round submission against Andre Muniz.

With his win, Brendan Allen moved into the No. 12 spot in the rankings while Muniz dropped two spots from No. 11 to No. 13. Perhaps the biggest victim of the rankings shift is Darren Till who found himself out of the top 15 altogether. Till’s omission from the rankings is not all that surprising considering the struggles he has faced getting into the win column in recent years. ‘The Gorilla’ has lost five of his last six, the most recent being a third-round submission loss to Dricus Du Plessis in December.

Brendan Allen’s victory over Muniz extended his win streak to four. Now ranked in the top 15, Allen will likely see a significant increase in competition going forward.

Tatiana Suarez Joins Brendan Allen in the UFC Rankings

Brendan Allen wasn’t the only fighter to burst into the rankings at UFC Vegas 70. After nearly four years away from the Octagon, Tatiana Suarez made her triumphant return on Saturday night. Immediately eliminating any concerns of cage rust, Suarez delivered a masterful performance, submitting Montana Del La Rosa in the second round of their main card bout. With the win, the Covina, Cali native moved to 9-0 and implanted herself in both the strawweight and the women’s pound-for-pound rankings.

Suarez is now the No. 13 ranked strawweight, pushing Luana Pinheiro and Emily Ducote back one spot. She also earned the No. 15 spot in the women’s pound-for-pound ranking.

Below is an explanation of how the UFC determines its rankings:

“Rankings were generated by a voting panel made up of media members. The media members were asked to vote for who they feel are the top fighters in the UFC by weight class and pound-for-pound. A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC. A fighter can appear in more than one weight division at a time. The champion and interim champion are considered to be in the top positions of their respective divisions and therefore are not eligible for voting by weight class. However, the champions can be voted on for the pound-for-pound rankings” (h/t MMA Mania).

Tatiana Suarez: Pulling Out Of Return Fight “Went Through My Mind”

Tatiana Suarez looked fantastic in her return to the cage at UFC Fight Night 220, but apparently she briefly considered pulling out of her scheduled matchup for the event. The 32-year-old fought for the first time in nearly four years when she met Mont…

Tatiana Suarez looked fantastic in her return to the cage at UFC Fight Night 220, but apparently she briefly considered pulling out of her scheduled matchup for the event. The 32-year-old fought for the first time in nearly four years when she met Montana De La Rosa in a women’s flyweight fight on the main…

Continue Reading Tatiana Suarez: Pulling Out Of Return Fight “Went Through My Mind” at MMA News.

Tatiana Suarez Shoots Down Rematch With Former Champion

Tatiana Suarez is ready to take on some of the top competition the UFC has to offer, but she isn’t interested in meeting a former champion that she’s already beaten. The 32-year-old entered the Octagon for the first time in nearly four years when…

Tatiana Suarez is ready to take on some of the top competition the UFC has to offer, but she isn’t interested in meeting a former champion that she’s already beaten. The 32-year-old entered the Octagon for the first time in nearly four years when she met Montana De La Rosa in a women’s flyweight bout…

Continue Reading Tatiana Suarez Shoots Down Rematch With Former Champion at MMA News.

UFC Fight Night 220 Performance Bonus Winners

UFC Fight Night 220 underwent a serious mid-event change when the main event was cancelled, but overall the card delivered a solid night of action to prepare fans for next week’s UFC 285. The main card alone delivered three great stoppages, and the UFC…

UFC Fight Night 220 underwent a serious mid-event change when the main event was cancelled, but overall the card delivered a solid night of action to prepare fans for next week’s UFC 285. The main card alone delivered three great stoppages, and the UFC chose to hand out Performance of the Night bonuses to all…

Continue Reading UFC Fight Night 220 Performance Bonus Winners at MMA News.