Not unlike terms such as “’barbarian” and “savage,” the term “thug” has been abused and misused by many people for decades. But when Bruce Buffer yells the word “thug” prior to calling out Rose Namajunas’ God-given name, she seems to bring a different aura to the word and a different meaning. Speaking with Luke Thomas Tuesday on The Luke Thomas Show, Rose clarified what exactly that meaning is to her:
“I think I really want to change what the meaning is behind (“thug”). That’s what the Native Americans was being called, was savages. But really, they’re just in tune with their primal, instinctual side. And I think that’s what makes me a thug is just going in there and doing what I gotta do in order to survive.”
Rose Namajunas has stepped into the Octagon with the then-undefeated boogywoman of the UFC strawweight division, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and not only survived, but conquered the advancing threat on two separate occasions, most recently at UFC 223 in Brooklyn, New York. Many fans accused Joanna of bullying Rose in the lead-in to their first fight, and according to Rose, there is a clear line between bullying and thuggin’, one that she is careful not to cross.
“I don’t want to cross the line into bully territory where it’s like you’re unnecessarily doing savagery and brutal things. You don’t want to go out of your way to be a thug.”
So how does a thug behave? Although Rose is the embodiment of her redefinition of the term, her words could apply to anyone who chooses to embrace them:
“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do in order to survive. And that’s what I think the meaning should be, not just going out of your way to prove that you’re tough. That’s just the insecurity. And I think that a lot of people, I guess, mistake this gangster mentality to just prove to others that their tough. I mean, the lion in the room don’t gotta roar. I mean, it’s just a lion, and that’s what it is. And so I don’t have to prove to nobody that I’m tough. I just go in the cage and do what I do.”
As of right now, Rose Namajunas does what she does better than anyone else in the world at 115 pounds. And if one chooses to adopt the strawweight champion’s definition of the word “thug,” then it’s OK to be a thug! In fact, it’s necessary.
Do You Believe “Thug” is a Fitting Nickname for Rose Namajunas?
