Rose Namajunas shocked the MMA world at UFC 217 when she defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Many felt Joanna would be the one to pass Ronda Rousey’s title defense record but Rose put a stop to all that.
Namajunas’ evolution over the last couple of years has been significant. The UFC strawweight champion recently went into greater detail regarding her change in philosophy with Luke Thomas on SiriusXM.
Following her loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz in the summer of 2016, Namajunas mentioned she spent a month in Indonesia volunteering with a charity to build schools. She feels the perspective she gained through the trip has helped her fight career.
Since her trip, Namajunas has choked out Michelle Waterson and took the title from Joanna Jedrzejczyk, so she might be onto something.
Rose Namajunas Predicts Submission Victory in Rematch with Joanna
Namajunas credits the gameplan she walked into the cage with for her victory at UFC 217, though she gives some credit for improvements in her boxing as well.
“My boxing was is what really set that up”, Namajunas said in regards to her first fight with Joanna. “Establish the jab and she’ll get focussed on that.”
“We were able to get her distance and her timing. We knew she couldn’t necessarily keep up with my footwork and I think that was a big part of it as well.
As for how Rose predicts the rematch at UFC 223 will go, her prediction is a little different.
“My prediction is I’ll be punching her in the face, take her back, and choke her out this time.”
Joanna Jedrzejczyk Blames Weight Cut For Loss
Joanna, on the other hand, blames a harsh weight cut for her loss to Rose. She has since fired the nutritionists she had been working with and publically berated them for their work.
“The people that I was working with led me to a critical state,” Joanna told MMA Fighting in December.
“The mistakes that they made were unforgivable,” she continued. “I can’t work with those kinds of people.”
Can Rose Namajunas do it again at UFC 223? Comment below and let us know what you think.
