Rose Namajunas News

Harry Kettle - November 5, 2021

UFC star Rose Namajunas has revealed that her ultimate life purpose, beyond mixed martial arts, is to become a farmer. This weekend at UFC 268, Rose Namajunas will attempt to cement her position as the best strawweight in the world when she defends her UFC title against Zhang Weili. It comes just months after Namajunas knocked Weili out with a head kick, winning the belt in the process.

Cole Shelton - November 3, 2021

In the co-main event of UFC 268, Rose Namajunas and Weili Zhang are running it back just seven months after Namajunas scored a 78-second TKO win. Heading into the fight, the champ is a +100 underdog while Zhang is the -120 favorite. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are nearly unanimous in thinking Namajunas defends her belt again and likely does it by stoppage again.

Drake Riggs - October 19, 2021

Despite the strawweight division being loaded with contenders, Zhang Weili will get an instant rematch with new champion Rose Namajunas. First colliding with Namajunas at UFC 261 in April, Zhang (21-2) attempted to defend her 115-pound UFC crown for just the second time – her first coming over the legendary Joanna Jedrzejczyk in March 2020. Unfortunately for China’s first promotional titleholder, “Magnum” fell to a quick head kick knockout in only 78 seconds.

Drake Riggs - October 7, 2021

Rose Namajunas and Zhang Weili are set to lock horns once again. As their UFC 268 rematch draws near on Nov. 6, the former champion turned challenger in Zhang has made some changes by altering her appearance with a new hairstyle as well as moving her training camp stateside.

Drake Riggs - September 7, 2021

Carla Esparza feels she’s done enough to earn a UFC title shot. Unfortunately for the inaugural strawweight champion, the UFC has gone in a different direction. At UFC 268 on Nov. 6 in Madison Square Garden, Esparza will have to watch the immediate title rematch pitting new two-time champion Rose Namajunas against Zhang Weili in the co-main event.

Drake Riggs - September 6, 2021

Rose Namajunas and Zhang Weili are set to collide once more. With the fight now official for UFC 268 on Nov. 6 in New York City at the world-famous Madison Square Garden, opening odds for the strawweight title rematch have been released.

Chris Taylor - August 28, 2021

Two title fights are now official for November’s UFC 268 event, including a women’s strawweight rematch between Rose Namajunas and Weili Zhang. Namajunas (10-4 MMA) and Zhang (21-2 MMA) originally collided at April’s UFC 261 event, with ‘Thug Rose’ walking away a nasty first round finish (see that here).

Chris Taylor - August 21, 2021

Chris Weidman believes that “bad juju” from his gruesome injury at UFC 261 played a part in Weili Zhang’s title loss to Rose Namajunas. Weidman (15-6 MMA), a former UFC middleweight champion, squared off with perennial division contender Uriah Hall on April 24 in Jacksonville. The contest lasted all of seventeen seconds, as the first kick that Chris threw was checked by Hall and resulted in ‘The All American’ breaking his leg.

Drake Riggs - June 15, 2021

Former UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili is already getting back to work for her return to action. China’s Zhang (21-2) suffered defeat to Rose Namajunas in her last time out at UFC 261 in April. She recently took to Instagram to hint at a potential rematch on the horizon as she begins training for her next fight.

Adam D Martin - May 31, 2021

Joanna Jedrzejczyk has shot down the idea of a title fight rematch between Carla Esparza and UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas. Jedrzejczyk hasn’t fought since UFC 248 in March 2020, when she lost a spirited split decision to former champ Weili Zhang in one of the best fights of last year. Since then, the Polish fighter hasn’t stepped back into the Octagon, but she is hoping to return to the cage later this year, and she has been adamant that she fights for the belt when she returns. However, Esparza’s recent TKO win over Yan Xiaonan would indicate she’s next in line.

Adam D Martin - May 30, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight contender Carla Esparza hopes the UFC gives her the next title shot against Rose Namajunas, saying “Come on Dana.” Esparza is coming off of an incredible TKO win over Yan Xiaonan at UFC Vegas 27 last weekend that was the statement she needed to make in order to earn a title shot with Namajunas. Esparza has now won her last five fights in a row, including notable victories over the likes of Marina Rodriguez and Michelle Waterson during that stretch, and she’s hoping that the win over Yan in such devastating fashion will earn her the next title shot.

Harry Kettle - May 25, 2021

Carla Esparza has issued a challenge to Rose Namajunas as she closes in on another shot at the UFC Strawweight Championship. Last Saturday night, Esparza firmly cemented her place as one of the division’s top contenders with a dominant TKO victory over Yan Xiaonan. It marked her fifth straight win and, in the eyes of many, has taken her to the doorstep of a title opportunity.

Drake Riggs - May 20, 2021

Zhang Weili and Beneil Dariush had mixed results in their most recent outings. However, they both were on the receiving end of negative crowd reactions. Dariush now finds himself sitting at the No. 3 ranked contender spot at lightweight after a dominant win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 262 this past weekend. The event was the second for the UFC to host a full crowd since the global pandemic.

Drake Riggs - May 18, 2021

Rose Namajunas drummed up some controversy ahead of her title tilt with Zhang Weili at UFC 261. For Zhang’s fellow China native and top strawweight contender, Yan Xiaonan, the comments could have been done without. In an interview with Lithuanian-based media before UFC 261, Namajunas would talk about her background and the upcoming matchup with Zhang. Ultimately it led to the now-infamous “better dead than red” comment which was a political insinuation. Yan believes the result of the comments did the opposite of what they should have.

Drake Riggs - May 10, 2021

The build-up to the big strawweight title clash between Zhang Weili and Rose Namajunas culminated with some political integration. However, it was just a struggle to make the fight happen in the first place. Now the former champion, China’s Zhang (21-2) hadn’t fought in over a year before the Namajunas encounter in Jacksonville, Florida at UFC 261. “Magnum” ultimately found herself in enemy territory when once again making the walk.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas said following her UFC 261 title win, “I love Joanna (Jedrzejczyk) but she gonna be mad.” Namajunas made history last weekend at UFC 261 when she knocked out Weili Zhang with a head kick to become the first two-time women’s champion in UFC history. Namajunas previously held the UFC women’s strawweight title from 2017 to 2019 after she knocked out Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217 and defended it once successfully against Jedrzejczyk until she lost it via slam KO to Jessica Andrade. Now that she has gotten her old belt back, she has no plans on giving it up anytime soon, especially to her old rival Jedrzejczyk.

Cole Shelton - April 26, 2021

The UFC returned to a full capacity crowd on Saturday night in Jacksonville, Florida for UFC 261. The card saw three title fights as Kamaru Usman rematched Jorge Masvidal, Weili Zhang took on Rose Namajunas, and Valentina Shevchenko battled Jessica Andrade. The event was one of the better ones in recent memory and one title ended up changing hands. In the main event, Usman defended his belt with a second-round KO over Masvidal. Namajunas became the strawweight champ with a first-round KO over Zhang, and to no surprise, Shevchenko defended her strap with a TKO win over Andrade.

Harry Kettle - April 26, 2021

Rose Namajunas has credited Joanna Jędrzejczyk for giving her the blueprint on the right way to approach a fight against Zhang Weili. “Thug Rose” went into her title fight at the weekend knowing that many viewed her as the underdog – but coming out of it, she was the one who had her hand raised as she recaptured the UFC strawweight title.