Every once in a while, a fighter has to face their hero in the cage, and Rose Namajunas is dreading the same ahead of her UFC 324 bout. No, we are not talking about Natalia Silva. We’re talking about the legendary flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko!

Namajunas was set to take on Alexa Grasso in a simple title-eliminator storyline: win, move on, chase gold. Then the opponent changed, and the night became more than just a routine bout. Behind the scenes, ‘Thug’ has been assured that beating Silva will result in a title shot against Shevchenko, a champion she grew up admiring and considers an icon and friend. Namajunas is the type of fighter who wears her emotions on her sleeve, but this time she’s trying to do the opposite: lock them away and keep moving forward.

Rose Namajunas admits the Valentina Shevchenko fight would feel “conflicting”

Rose Namajunas admitted in an interview with Ariel Helwani that UFC executives told her she’d be getting a title shot if she won on Saturday. That kind of news should be pure motivation, but with this matchup, it comes across differently. Valentina Shevchenko isn’t a villain holding the belt hostage. ‘Thug’ holds her in high regard, which makes the whole situation just uncomfortable.

Namajunas said, “It’ll be weird, but I mean, we’re martial artists.” She stated that she would want to sit down with ‘Bullet’ first and discuss the situation as adults because this is not the type of competition that naturally breeds trash talk and anger. She referred to Shevchenko as someone who has inspired her and whom she has looked up to. And that’s where things get messy.

Rose Namajunas didn’t pretend she could turn a switch and stop caring. “It would definitely be conflicting emotions, but at the same time, I’m down to do it. I also understand if there’d be second thoughts or if it would be kind of weird.”

Then came the part that explains why the tension feels so real. “She’s literally my favorite female fighter,” Namajunas added. “So it’d be so weird because, obviously, I would never want to see her lose. But then I would have to go into a fight and try to beat her.”

And yet, her honesty is what makes ‘Thug’ dangerous. She’s never been an ego-driven fighter. She runs with purpose. If there’s a chance to make history, like being a two-division champion, she’s willing to pay the emotional price.

Kayla Harrison, the original UFC 324 co-main event star, wanted a showdown with Shevchenko at the White House if Harrison could get past Amanda Nunes. The American champ vs. the ethnically Russian champ was a storyline that fit the White House spectacle perfectly. But since Harrison had to pull out and is expected to be out for around six months, Namajunas has a chance to win that lottery. But first, she must survive Natalia Silva, a competition that the 33-year-old admitted she wasn’t prepared for.

Namajunas shares the blunt truth about facing Natalia Silva

Rose Namajunas isn’t only coping with the emotional weight of a potential Shevchenko bout. She is also dealing with the fact that her entire UFC 324 preparation got flipped. ‘Thug’ spent weeks breaking down Alexa Grasso before having to switch to Natalia Silva’s speed and taekwondo-style movement. The 33-year-old didn’t sugarcoat it either.

She stated that she wasn’t prepared for this matchup at first. However, she prefers the switch. Rose Namajunas stated that Grasso would have brought a different type of problem: pure toughness and mental fortitude, the type of fighter that doesn’t change game plans regardless of what happens in the cage.

However, in terms of style, Silva is the more difficult problem. “I definitely think Natalia brings more challenges than Alexa did,” Rose stated in the aforementioned interview, calling her style a lot trickier to deal with. Nonetheless, the reason she is happier is simple: “I’m definitely more happy, though, with the changes because I feel like I get closer to my goal faster with Natalia as opposed to, like, Alexa,” she added.

The 33-year-old even confessed that defeating Alexa Grasso, even decisively, might not have ensured anything. With Silva, it’s straightforward: win this, and you’re next. So, she adapted quickly, even hiring a taekwondo Olympian for training, because she understands that this fight is more than just dangerous; it’s her fast lane to history.