On Wednesday, UFC held their official Media Day in Brooklyn, New York. Fighters scheduled for this Saturday’s UFC 223: Khabib vs. Holloway pay-per-view took part in Open Workouts, the final pre-fight press conference and one-on-one scrums with reporters.
As noted, our own Fernando Quiles Jr. is on location in Brooklyn all week covering the event for MMANews.com. Among the fighters he spoke with on Wednesday was UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Rose Namajunas.
“Thug” Rose (7-3) knocked out former title-holder Joanna Jędrzejczyk (14-1) in the first round at UFC 217 last November to capture the title and hand the Polish star her first professional MMA loss.
At the UFC 223 Media Day, Namajunas spoke about her excitement and anticipation leading up to her big rematch against Jędrzejczyk this Saturday.
“Yeah, that’s what I came here for,” said a laughing Namajunas. “Yeah, I’m excited.”
Namajunas was then asked about the build-up to this fight being completely opposite from the promotion centered around their first showdown back in November. She was asked if she feels knocking out Joanna made the former champion humble, as Joanna has left the “Boogeywoman” gimmicks at home and has been respectful towards Namajunas in interviews leading up to their fight this time.
“I think there’s no way that you can get knocked out in the first round … even if maybe you didn’t do everything that you was supposed to do,” said Namajunas. “Even if there were uncontrollable circumstances that were to happen I think that when that happens to you, you’ve got to change your perspective on life. She’s out there saying that [so] I think she’s on the right path and got … something is different about her, that’s for sure.”
From there, Namajunas was asked about being on a 2-0 win streak right now after losing via split decision to another Polish UFC star, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, back at UFC 201 in July of 2016. The question was asked if she feels that she is finally finding her groove after fighting in ten pro MMA bouts in five years.
According to the UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion, experience makes all of the difference in the world in the fight game.
“I think so, yeah. I always believed that it’s not about what your record is, it’s about how many fights you have,” said Namajunas. “And what type of fight do you have? Those experiences, there’s so many things to take away from a fight. Each one of my fights, win or loss, has made me what I am, and I’m grateful for it.”
Before wrapping up the conversation, Fernando brought up the fact that UFC President Dana White went on record predicting that the Namajunas vs. Jędrzejczyk fight will steal the show at UFC 223 this weekend.
“Yeah, the ladies always bring it! I think it’s the least talked-about in the build-up sometimes, but when it comes to performing … we deliver.”
Headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Max Holloway for the UFC Lightweight Championship and featuring the Namajunas-Jędrzejczyk 2 fight, UFC 223 goes down from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York this Saturday night, April 7th, airing live on pay-per-view. Make sure to join us here at MMANews.com this Saturday for complete round-by-round results coverage of the big event this weekend.
What do you expect from the Namajunas-Jędrzejczyk rematch at UFC 223 this Saturday? Sound off in the Comments section below.
