Rose Namajunas hopes to inspire others in her championship run.
Namajunas won the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) strawweight title back in Nov. 2017 at UFC 217. She earned a stunning first-round TKO victory over Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who was previously unbeaten. “Thug” Rose would go on to successfully retain her gold against Jedrzejczyk in a rematch at UFC 223 via unanimous decision.
Namajunas hopes that as every day passes during her reign, someone is inspired. She is known for her positive attitude as well as her kindness. Namajunas is as dangerous as they come inside the Octagon, but has developed a reputation of being the complete opposite when the gloves are off.
During the The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival, Namajunas talked about leading the way for kindness (via Newsday):
“I want to be the most influential champion, in a positive light. I want to change the world. I want to encourage people to be nicer to each other, to be nicer to themselves.”
Namajunas’ next challenger hasn’t been decided. Jessica Andrade and Karolina Kowalkiewicz would appear to be the leading candidates. Andrade is coming off two big wins over Claudia Gadelha and Tecia Torres. Kowalkiewicz has also won back-to-back bouts and has a split decision win over Namajunas.
Namajunas is riding a three-fight winning streak. She’s gone 6-1 in her last seven outings. “Thug” Rose has finished four of her opponents in that span. It has been a quick turnaround for Namajunas, who went from 2-2 to 8-3 with a successful UFC title defense.
Who do you think is next for Rose Namajunas?
