Rose Namajunas Is Still Improving Every Day

Those main event victories set her up for a five-round bout with Erin Blanchfield. Namajunas headed into Edmonton believing a win could set her up for a title shot or at least the slot as the No. 2 contender behind Manon Fiorot (to whom Namajunas lost in her divisional debut in November 2023).  In the fight, Namajunas got out ahead early, looking like her swift and dangerous self against the young Blanchfield. However, “Cold Blooded” bit down on her mouthpiece and gutted out the last three rounds to earn the nod on the judges’ scorecards. 

Disappointed, Namajunas took stock of her work in 2024 and decided to take a small step back to give herself time to work on her skills and her physicality.

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“I needed an offseason between to get some more strength,” she said. “Not that I felt weak in the fight, but more for my mental strength because I felt like toward the end of the fight, I ran out of steam a little bit mentally, and (Blanchfield) had a little more willpower at the end. I felt like that was the difference maker in the fight.”

Spending time in the proverbial lab is always a tricky proposition for fighters. It’s necessary, but because there isn’t a true pause in UFC’s schedule, it also means allowing for the division to move along. Since that fight, Shevchenko defended her title against Fiorot, Natalia Silva ascended to the top of the division after beating Alexa Grasso at UFC 315, and Blanchfield remains in the thick of the title talk despite her main event with Maycee Barber falling through at the literal last second.

Even so, Namajunas is at a point where she knows she can only control her own actions while taking time to recuperate and reload. For her, that also means spending time with nature. Whether she is gardening and growing her own food, tending to her swarm of bees or swimming in a river, Namajunas is always looking for ways to ground herself and spend time in nature.

Experience also affords a fighter perspective, as well as self-awareness, and Namajunas recently had a revelation about herself: she wasn’t doing as much as she thought she was.

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“All of a sudden, the smoke cleared and I could see differently.” Namajunas said. “I saw myself differently than I ever did, and I finally understood what Pat (Barry) and my other coaches were telling me. (They said), You’re kind of just letting these girls do stuff in training.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, I get it now.’ I used to be like, ‘I’m trying my hardest. What are you talking about?’ I’m breathing heavy. And then I watched it, and I’m like, ‘Man, I’m not doing nothing. I don’t know what I thought I was doing.’”

That realization, plus the added physical and mental strength from lifting more weights and acclimating to the flyweight division, had Namajunas feeling strong through her fight camp for Maverick. According to Namajunas, she was able to up her output without feeling more fatigued, and she hopes to show as much in the Octagon on June 7.

Although familiar with Maverick, having sparred with her in their shared base in Colorado, Namajunas isn’t taking all that much from their sessions. What she does understand, though, is Maverick wants her spot, and Namajunas is eager to convey the message that Maverick is better off looking somewhere else.

“I want to fight for the title,” Namajunas said. “I know, obviously, losing to Erin Blanchfield was a speed bump in my path. I really felt like that was it, and I was so frustrated. That was probably the most frustrating thing about the loss was that I was right there, and I felt like I was going to get a title shot after that fight, so I hope this can potentially do the same. If I gotta fight a few more times, then sure, but I’m really hoping for something good here.”