Former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas got the job done on Saturday night at UFC 251 against Jessica Andrade. Facial bruises aside, “Thug Rose” got even with a split decision victory and a $50,000 bonus for Fight of the Night.
Getting to assess her performance a few days later, Namajunas spoke about it in a recent conversation with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.
“I loved it, yeah. I loved it even more considering the improvement Andrade made,” she said (transcript by MMA Junkie). “I was happy with the level of prepared I was.
“Going into the third, I knew she was gonna come out a little desperate. Anticipating that was like, ‘Ooh, gotta be extra sharp.’ Obviously I got caught, but overall I was just so proud of myself.”
The victory over Andrade moved Namajunas up to number one at the 115-pound rankings, right below champion Weili Zhang. A title fight is the next logical step, which Rose already welcomes.
“Ever since I saw her fight Tecia (Torres), I’ve been scouting her out a little bit,” Namajunas said. “I just think it’s gonna be a beautiful display of martial arts. She’s a master; I’m a master. It’s gonna be really cool.
“I would love to fight her. She’s awesome. She’s really technical, really strong, just overall a master. That’s something that really interests me a lot.”
After UFC 251, the 28-year-old Namajunas improved to a record of 10-4 (with six wins by stoppage).
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