Photo Courtesy: Rose Namajunas Twitter page
By Kyler Kuehler
Rose Namajunas is possibly not only a top fighter in the women’s strawweight division, but possibly one of the toughest fighters to ever compete in the UFC. In her short career she has compiled a record of 4-2 with a UFC record of 2-1 and as a competitor on the Ultimate Fighter. She held a perfect record of three wins. This just shows how well equipped in mixed-martial arts Namajunas is, especially after a dominating performance over fast rising star, Paige VanZant, she has captured more attention from the critics and fans with the possibility of being the next in line for a title shot. Since Namajunas could be considered for a fight against the current undefeated Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk (11-0) has brought up the question, “Is Rose Namajunas the woman to finally defeat Joanna Jedrzejczyk?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dynk2viOzI
Namajunas’ fighting techniques consist of jiu-jitsu, taekwondo, karate along with some wrestling that has helped her not only compile a great MMA record at just 23 years old, but made her a skilled submission specialist, winning all her professional and Ultimate Fighter fights by submission. Along with her submissions, Namajunas also possesses great striking with her hands and feet that was on display in her most recent fight against Paige VanZant at UFC Fight Night 80, which could give her an even match up against Jedrzejczyk’s striking, which consist of impressive Muay Thai and boxing style.
Even the way she counters her opponents’ movements is just stunning as she does it with a quick and accurate setup making her that much more of a challenge to the rest of the strawweight division and possibly the toughest challenge for Jedrzejczyk.
Another item to keep in mind is Namajunas’ ground game where her submissions come into great play and she becomes much more aggressive, which is something Jedrzejczyk never seems to do in fights and possibly another key to defeating her. Though Jedrzejczyk has a great takedown defense making her extremely hard to go to the ground with, she has never faced anyone as aggressive as Namajunas is on her feet and the ground. If the fight turned into a ground game then it looks as if Namajunas will be able pull off the setup she needs to submit Jedrzejczyk and gain the gold that she had fought for on the finale of the Ultimate Fighter in December of 2014 against, former champion, Carla Esparza.
From all perspectives it looks like Namajunas could just be the one to get the job done that others before her were unsuccessful as she has improved massively in her fights since her first loss inside the octagon of the UFC against Esparza.
Though in the UFC and MMA in general anything can happen. The only way to know how this fight will turn out is to put them both inside the octagon and let them go at it to see who is the true king, or in this case queen of the UFC Women’s Strawweight division.
