Rose Namajunas News

Christopher Taylor - November 6, 2021

Zhang Weili is looking to make a statement when she squares off with Rose Namajunas for a second time in tonight’s UFC 268 co-main event. Zhang (21-2 MMA) and Namajunas (10-4 MMA) originally collided back at April’s UFC 261 event, with ‘Thug Rose’ emerging victorious by way of first round knockout.

Chris Taylor - November 5, 2021

The Octagon returns to Madison Square Garden for UFC 268, a fourteen-bout fight card headlined by a rematch between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. Usman (19-1 MMA) and Covington (16-2 MMA) originally collided back at UFC 245 in December of 2019, with the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ emerging victorious by of a thrilling fifth round TKO.

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 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 - October 4, 2021

Henry Cejudo is feeling rather confident in his new training partner. Ahead of her upcoming title fight rematch with Rose Namajunas, former champion Zhang Weili has taken her talents to the U.S. where she’s training in Scottsdale. Aiding “Magnum” at the Fight Ready team along the way is none other than the former dual-division titlist in Cejudo.

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 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 - July 28, 2021

Zhang Weili is making it clear that she has accepted her first loss since her debut — but not without first overcoming the pain that came with it. The UFC’s first Chinese champion is currently in the middle of having a mini-documentary release where she’s gone into great detail about some moments in her career — including her most recent fight.

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.

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.

Christopher Taylor - May 22, 2021

UFC President Dana White has responded to Carla Esparza after the former champ called for a title shot following her mauling of Yan Xiaonan. Esparza (18-6 MMA), the promotions inaugural strawweight champion, squared off with Xiaonan (13-2 MMA) in the co-headliner of tonight’s UFC Vegas 27 event.

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.

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.

Adam D Martin - April 27, 2021

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman praised newly-crowned women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas after her upset win at UFC 261. Usman put on a stunning performance in the main event when he electrified the crowd with a KO win over Jorge Masvidal, but Namajunas was one of the stars of the show, as well. “Thug” knocked out Weili Zhang in the first round with a nasty head kick to become the new UFC women’s strawweight champion. It was an incredible performance by her once again as she regained the belt she lost to Jessica Andrade nearly two years ago in Brazil.