UFC fans widely consider Rose Namajunas one of the best strikers not only in her division, but on the entire UFC roster. ‘Thug’ seems to get better and better every fight, and is under the tutelage of one of the best minds in MMA in Trevor Wittman. 

‘Thug’ won the belt after knocking out Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217. She followed that up with a successful title defense in a rematch against Joanna. Most recently, she secured a split decision win against Jessica Andrade at UFC 251, which granted her a title shot against Zhang Weili. 

Ahead of the fight, Namajunas described the reason for not liking what ‘Magnum’ stands for and made a bold statement. 

Read: Patrick Mahomes responds to UFC fighter Julian Marquez’s callout 

Rose Namajunas says she fights for ‘freedom’

In a recent interview, Rose Namajunas revealed that even though there is nothing personal between her and Weili, she revealed a dislike for what the champion represents. 

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She said, “But in all actuality going into the fights [vs Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Jessica Andrade], maybe there was certain rivalries and things like that, but I always kept myself in control. I never really hated the person. And I don’t hate Weili or anything like that. There’s nothing … you know … but I do feel as though I have a lot to fight for in this fight and what she represents.”

‘Thug’ continued, “And so just after watching that, it was just a huge reminder of it’s better dead than red. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Weili is red. That’s what she represents. It’s nothing personal against her. But that’s a huge motivating factor of why I fight.”

Rose Namajunas is of Lithuanian descent, and she witnessed her parents in the struggles when she was a child. They escaped to the United States for a better life for themselves and for their children.

Therefore, having seen the hardships her parents went through, Namajunas feels that she is in a way fighting for the same against Zhang at UFC 261.