Rose Namajunas News
Rose Namajunas reacts to backlash following title loss to Carla Esparza at UFC 274
Fernando Quiles - May 8, 2022
Rose Namajunas has gone off on those giving her flak for her performance at UFC 274. Namajunas put the UFC Strawweight Championship on the line against Carla Esparza on May 7. The title fight served as UFC 274’s co-main event. The action was held inside the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
Pros react after Carla Esparza defeats Rose Namajunas at UFC 274
Chris Taylor - May 7, 2022
Tonight’s UFC 274 event was co-headlined by a women’s strawweight title fight rematch featuring Rose Namajunas taking on Carla Esparza. Namajunas (11-5 MMA) and Esparza (19-6 MMA) had previously met back in December of 2014, where it was ‘Cookie Monster’ who came out the victor by way of submission.
UFC 274 Results: Carla Esparza defeats Rose Namajunas (Highlights)
Chris Taylor - May 7, 2022
Tonight’s UFC 274 event is co-headlined by a women’s strawweight title fight rematch featuring Rose Namajunas taking on Carla Esparza. Namajunas (11-4 MMA) and Esparza (18-6 MMA) previously met back in December of 2014, where it was ‘Cookie Monster’ who came out the victor by way of submission.
Rose Namajunas says praise from Mike Tyson is the “coolest thing” that’s happened on her MMA journey: “It was really surreal”
Susan Cox - May 5, 2022
Rose Namajunas is saying that the praise she received from Mike Tyson is the ‘coolest thing’ that’s happened to her on her MMA journey. It will be Rose Namajunas (12-4 MMA), the UFC women’s strawweight champion, going up against Carla Esparza (19-6 MMA) this coming Saturday, May 7th at UFC 274.
UFC 274 | Pro fighters make their picks for Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza 2 title fight
Cole Shelton - May 4, 2022
In the co-main event of UFC 274 Rose Namajunas is looking to defend her strawweight title as she rematches Carla Esparza after seven-and-a-half years. Heading into the fight, Namajunas is a -220 favorite on FanDuel while the challenger is a +176 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are unanimous in thinking Namajunas defends her belt again and does so by late TKO or decision.
Rose Namajunas explains how previous Ronda Rousey comparisons affected her first fight with Carla Esparza: “You don’t really think anybody’s on your level”
Harry Kettle - May 3, 2022
UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas has explained how being compared to Ronda Rousey impacted her against Carla Esparza. This Saturday night at UFC 274, Rose Namajunas will attempt to cement her status as the best strawweight on the planet when she goes head to head with Carla Esparza. The two women have met before when they battled for the inaugural strawweight belt in December 2014 and on that night, Esparza submitted ‘Thug Rose’ and captured the title.
Michael Bisping shares his prediction for Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza 2: “I think it’s going to be a stoppage”
Susan Cox - May 2, 2022
Michael Bisping is sharing his prediction for the upcoming Rose Namajunas vs Carla Exparza 2. It will be this coming Saturday, May 7th at UFC 274 that the long-awaited rematch between Carla Esparza (19-6 MMA) and UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas (12-4 MMA) will take place in the co-main event.
Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza 2 set for UFC 274
Cole Shelton - March 16, 2022
Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza are finally set to run it back. According to Sports Illustrated, Namjunas and Esparza have agreed to fight one another in the co-main event of UFC 274 on May 7 in Phoenix, Arizona. The event will be headlined by a lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje.
Rose Namajunas explains how she benefited from loss to Carla Esparza: “I needed a piece of the humble pie”
Susan Cox - January 4, 2022
Rose Namajunas on an episode of UFC’s ‘Run it Back’ YouTube series commented on how she benefited from her loss to Carla Esparza way back in 2014: “Man I just had to stop being an a**hole. [laughs] No I mean, not that, but just like be, have self-awareness you know what I mean like, I was just kinda floating through life and just no direction with anything. I needed a piece of the humble pie, ya know.”
Former champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk says she was offered the winner of ‘Esparza vs. Namajunas 2’, but plans to rematch Weili Zhang
Susan Cox - January 4, 2022
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is aiming to return to MMA competition in 2022. In a recent interview on the ‘Kanal Sportowy Show’ in Poland, Joanna commented:
Carla Esparza set to challenge UFC champion Rose Namajunas in 2022
Susan Cox - December 20, 2021
Carla Esparza will get her much deserved rematch against Rose Namajunas in 2022 according to UFC President Dana White. Esparza (18-6 MMA) is currently on a five-fight winning streak, her latest being a first round stoppage victory over Yan Xiaonan back in May.
Rose Namajunas can’t figure out why UFC won’t “get behind” Carla Esparza for a rematch: “Nothing really interests me other than Carla”
Harry Kettle - December 15, 2021
UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas can’t understand why the UFC won’t back Carla Esparza to get a title shot. At UFC 268, Rose Namajunas was able to defeat Zhang Weili for the second time this year to successfully retain her UFC strawweight title. Carla Esparza, meanwhile, finished Yan Xiaonan in May to take her current win streak up to five.
Carla Esparza responds after Dana White suggests the UFC has another "option" at strawweight
Christopher Taylor - November 10, 2021
Carla Esparza has responded after Dana White suggested that the UFC has another “option” for Rose Namajunas at strawweight. After Namajunas (11-4 MMA) defeated Zhang Weili (21-3 MMA) for a second time in the co-headliner of last Saturday’s UFC 268 event, many assumed that former champ Carla Esparza would be next to challenge ‘Thug Rose’.
What's next for the stars of UFC 268?
Cole Shelton - November 8, 2021
The UFC returned to Madison Square Garden for the first time since November of 2019 for a stacked UFC 268 card. The event saw two titles on the line as Kamaru Usman was looking to defend his welterweight title in a rematch against Colby Covington. Rose Namajunas and Weili Zhang were also running it back from their fight in April for the strawweight strap. UFC 268 ended up being one of the best cards in recent memory as in the main event, Usman edged out Covington in a super close fight. Namajunas, meanwhile, went up 2-0 on Zhang as she defended her belt with a split decision win. Now, after UFC 268, here’s what I think should be next for the four fighters involved in the title fights.
Carla Esparza respectfully requests rematch with Rose Namajunas for UFC women's title
Adam D Martin - November 8, 2021
Former champion Carla Esparza respectfully requested a rematch with current champ Rose Namajunas for the UFC women’s strawweight title. Esparza is arguably the No. 1 contender in the UFC women’s strawweight division, so she watched anxiously this past Saturday night as Namajunas duked it out with former champ Weili Zhang at UFC 268. It was a hard-fought fight between the two women, but it was Namajunas who earned the split decision win on the judges’ scorecards to defend her belt.
Dana White not ready to give Carla Esparza a title shot following UFC 268: "We have an option"
Christopher Taylor - November 7, 2021
Dana White is not ready to proclaim Carla Esparza as the next strawweight title challenger, this despite Rose Namajunas’ win at UFC 268. Esparza (18-6 MMA), the promotions former strawweight champion, is currently on a five-fight winning streak and seemingly has the best case for a title shot when compared to any of the other divisions contenders.
Rose Namajunas discusses the trash talking that was taking place during her rematch with Zhang Weili at UFC 268
Adam D Martin - November 7, 2021
UFC women’s strawweight champ Rose Namajunas discussed the trash-talking that was taking place during her rematch with Zhang Weili at UFC 268. Namajunas and Zhang met in the co-main event of UFC 268 in what was a highly-anticipated rematch between the current 115lbs women’s champ and the former champion. These two previously met back at UFC 261 in April, and it was Namajunas who landed a perfect head kick on Zhang and finished her with strikes. The rematch this time around was a much closer fight as both women had their moments in the bout. But ultimately it was the judges who sided with Namajunas winning the fight unanimously.
Weili Zhang issues statement following split decision loss to Rose Namajunas at UFC 268
Adam D Martin - November 7, 2021
Weili Zhang issued a statement following her split decision loss to UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas at UFC 268. Zhang fought as hard as she could over the course of 25 minutes, but ultimately it was Namajunas who edged out a narrow split decision on the judges’ scorecards. For Zhang, it is her second straight defeat to Namajunas after losing via head kick KO earlier this year at UFC 261. This second fight was much closer, and some fans even thought that Zhang deserved to win, but ultimately it was Namajunas who edged out the split decision win.