Rose Namajunas News

Drake Riggs - February 18, 2019

UFC 237 on May 11 will act as the UFC’s big return to Brazil. In the co-main event, we’ll be treated to a long-awaited strawweight showdown as the champion Rose Namajunas returns to face off with the hometown challenger, Jessica Andrade.

James Lynch - January 10, 2019

Rose Namajunas is getting no love from the oddsmakers. The UFC strawweight champion, who is scheduled to defend her title against Jessica Andrade at UFC 237, opened as a +100 underdog (bet $100 to win $100) according to 5Dimes. Since then, the line has shot up even further, as Namajunas is sitting at a +135 underdog (bet $100 to win $135) with Andrade coming in at -165 (bet $165 to win $100).

Drake Riggs - January 7, 2019

The champ is back! The last time we saw the current strawweight queen Rose Namajunas (8-3) in action was in April 2018 at UFC 223 when she fended off Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the second straight time.

Cole Shelton - December 11, 2018

UFC 233, the first pay-per-view of 2019, is just over a month away and it still doesn’t have a main event. That was not initially the case, as a flyweight title fight between TJ Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo was originally supposed to headline the card. However, when that fight was moved up a week to headline the first ESPN card in Brooklyn, UFC 233 was left without a main event. Now, with the majority of champions booked, injured or recovering from recent fights, the UFC finds itself in a tough situation. There are not a lot of viable options left available for the UFC 233 main event — especially if the promotion wants to compete with Bellator 214, which will be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader, and airs the same night.

James Lynch - October 21, 2018

When UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk for a second time this past April, it seemingly closed the door on their rivalry….for now. According to “Thug Rose” that’s more satisfying than winning a UFC championship as she mentioned in recent interview with UFC.com.

Tom Taylor - September 9, 2018

On Saturday night, in the last-minute co-main event of UFC 228, Brazil’s Jessica Andrade stepped into the cage with Poland’s Karolina Kowalkiewicz in a bout that was widely expected to produce the next challenger for UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas. Andrade did not let the opportunity go to waste, knocking her accomplished foe out in the bout’s very first round. Having earned this impressive win, Jessica Andrade now feels there’s no denying her a title fight with Rose Namajunas.

Tom Taylor - September 5, 2018

Back in April, in the buildup to UFC 223, former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor mounted a crazed attack on a shuttle bus carrying his arch rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, throwing a dolly through the bus’s window. While McGregor was allegedly after Nurmagomedov, however, he wound up injuring UFC 223 fighters Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg and, from the sounds of it, traumatizing UFC strawweight champion “Thug” Rose Namajunas. Speaking on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show this week, Rose Namajunas’ coach Trevor Wittman claimed that the strawweight champion is still dealing with the emotional trauma stemming from McGregor rampage, and that this lingering trauma has made it difficult for her to leave home.

Tom Taylor - August 12, 2018

UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas is now 2-0 over former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. That said, Jedrzejczyk remains adamant that she, not the reigning champ, is the best strawweight in the game. In the past, Rose Namajunas has said the only way she’ll give Joanna Jedrzejczyk another rematch is if Jedrzejczyk acknowledges that the new champ is the better fighter. Jedrzejczyk, however, has assured this is something she’ll never do.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2018

Conor McGregor tried to apologize to UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas after he nearly injured her in his infamous April rampage. He made this effort on Instagram, in a direct message to her. Unfortunately, she isn’t buying the Irish star’s apology. She explained why on the inaugural episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show. “I did get an Instagram message from him, but I don’t really know if that was really him,” Namajunas told Helwani (transcribed by Chamatkar Sandhu for ESPN). “To me, that doesn’t seem like the type of, it just didn’t seem like a sincere apology from an actual person. To me, I didn’t really, I guess, consider it a real apology.”

Tom Taylor - May 22, 2018

For a time, Joanna Jedrzejczyk looked truly unstoppable as the UFC strawweight champion. Then, in November of 2017, her reign came to a shocking and violent end, as she was put down by a salvo of first-round Rose Namajunas punches. Given her previous dominance, Jedrzejczyk was given the chance to reclaim her title from Namajunas in an immediate rematch in April. In the end, however, she fell to 0-2 against the new champion, giving up a close but fair unanimous decision.

Tom Taylor - May 16, 2018

Last weekend, on the main card of UFC 224, BJJ star Mackenzie Dern stepped into the Octagon for the second time, taking on Amanda Bobby Cooper. Dern won this fight in emphatic fashion, dropping her foe with a huge punch in the first round, then sinking in a deep rear-naked choke for the win. Unfortunately, Dern’s win over Cooper comes with an asterisk attached, as she tipped the scales at 123 pounds, a significant seven pounds above the strawweight division’s 116-pound limit.

Drake Riggs - May 9, 2018

“You could just kind of tell by my performance [if the incident messed me up]. Everything I said after in the press conference, is kind of like, you know, my feelings on the issue.

Chris Taylor - April 7, 2018

MMA Community reacts to Rose Namajunas vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk 2 A women’s strawweight title fight rematch between current champion Rose Namajunas and former title holder Joanna Jedrzejczyk served as the co-main event of tonight’s UFC 223 fight card in Brooklyn, New York.

Chris Taylor - April 7, 2018

UFC 223 Results: Rose Namajunas defeats Joanna Jedrzejczyk A women’s strawweight title fight rematch between current division champion Rose Namajunas and former title holder Joanna Jedrzejczyk served as the co-main event of tonight’s UFC 223 fight card in Brooklyn, New York.

Tom Taylor - April 5, 2018

Conor McGregor’s attack on the UFC 223 fighter bus (see it here) nearly left the card without a co-main event, as UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas was badly rattled by the ordeal, having nearly been injured by one of the Irishman’s projectiles. Apparently, it was all severe enough that she was almost forced off the card. Luckily, Namajunas is reported to have regrouped, and decided to compete as planned on Saturday night. This update comes from Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.

Justin Golightly - March 13, 2018

The combat sports universe moves at the speed of light, but even with the infinite treadmill of social media and face-punch dates being booked, it’s hard to forget Rose Namajunas dethroning UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217. The unexpected result was juxtaposed by the former champ’s signature pre-fight scare tactics. …But they didn’t work. Now Jedrzejczyk seeks to take back what’s hers and is righting wrongs along the way. “That night I was not one hundred percent competitor for [Rose Namajunas]. […] I am sure that there will be no negligence before the return from Namajunas. After what happened in November, my eyes and ears are open even wider. I am even more demanding not only to myself, but also to my colleagues, to people, who are creating my team. And at the same time I trust them very much. My ties with coaches Katel Kubis and Mike Brown, ties with sparring partners, as well as with the owner of ATT, have tightened considerably.”

Drake Riggs - February 20, 2018

The absolutely epic film, ‘Thug Rose Champion’ was created by MMA fighter Steven Parsons and chronicles the lead up to the first title bout between the then title challenger, Rose Namajunas and strawweight champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217, the fight itself and the rise of Rose as a champion. Their rematch takes place at UFC 223 on April 7.

Justin Golightly - February 13, 2018

In a couple of months, Rose Namajunas will march into the Octagon again to see if she can beat former UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk back-to-back at UFC 223. Teammate and friend Justin Gaethje thinks it’s as good as wrapped up already. Citing difficulties with her weight cut, Jedrzejczyk says things will be different this time in the rematch. Gaethje thinks that the way Namajunas won, didn’t have anything to do with the weight cut, which shouldn’t be an excuse anyway. “I think [Joanna Jedrzejczyk]’s weak-minded for [talking about her drastic weight cut complications], even if it is true. It’s her own business. And no matter what, it could be true to the core and you could have proof, who’s going to [care]? Like, I’m not going to support you. Okay, whose fault was it? At the end of the day, whose fault was it? It was your fault. Do you have a scale at your house? Then you get to step on the scale every single morning, just like every single one of us do. We worry about our weight the whole camp, and I’ve never had a nutritionist help me in my entire life. […] I made weight in college eating McDonald’s every day. It’s willpower. You either f-cking do it or you don’t do it.”