Rose Namajunas: The Lord’s prayer “got me through” Conor McGregor bus attack

Former UFC strawweight champ Rose Namajunas has opened up on the traumatizing experience of being on the bus Conor McGregor infamously attacked back in 2018.

The incident occurred at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, NY when McGregor, in a frenzied search for his nemesis Khabib Nurmagomedov, hurled a dolly through the window of a bus carrying a number of UFC fighters—Namajunas included.

Speaking on the UFC’s Year of the Fighter series, Namajunas opened up on that harrowing moment, explaining why she found it so traumatizing and how she survived it.

“It was like an eternity being in that bus, because I had no idea who that was that was attacking us,” Namajunas said (via MMA Junkie). “All of a sudden I see a big ol’ fist kind of bang on my window and then I see one of the security guards grab one of the dudes. I didn’t know it was Conor until a little bit later. When he threw the dolly, the bus was backing up into the elevator spot as he threw it to the window right in front of me. But had the bus not been moving, it would have hit my window.

“In my head, once I found out it was Conor, I was a little relieved, but I still was on edge,” Namajunas added. “It just took me back to when I was a kid, riding to school through bad neighborhoods on a bus and people throwing shit at our bus. And I’ve never been completely cornered like that. We were just sitting there not in control. So what did I do in that moment? I said the Lord’s prayer again and then it actually did make me feel a little bit better at that moment, and it got me through that tough moment.”

Rose Namajunas last fought at UFC 251 in July, when she picked up a split decision win over Jessica Andrade. She’s now expected to get the next crack at reigning strawweight champion Weili Zhang.