Rose Namajunas is one of the biggest names in women’s MMA at the moment. She is a two-time UFC strawweight champion, with two stellar title defenses. Namajunas trains with her long-time coach Pat Barry, and her relationship with her coach has raised a lot of eyebrows in the MMA community.

The former two-time UFC champion is gearing up for her second fight since losing the strawweight title to Carla Esparza at UFC 274. Previously, Namajunas went up against Manon Fiorot at UFC on ESPN+ 84 in France in what was her flyweight debut. 

Unfortunately, Fiorot managed to welcome the star to a new division with a sour loss via unanimous decision. However, Namjunas is not about to let the loss hold her back and is all set to take on Amanda Ribas at UFC ON ESPN 53.  As we approach the event, let us take a look at the history between ‘Thug’ and her coach, Pat Barry.

Rose Namajunas and Pat Barry – relationship timeline and age discrepancy

The former strawweight champion was born on June 29, 1992. As of 2023, she is 31 years old. Rose Namajunas met her coach, Pat Barry, at the Roufusport Gym in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ‘Thug’ was reportedly 14 years old when she joined the gym. Later on, she and her coach, with whom she shares a 13-year age difference, started dating over 10 years ago. However, Pat Barry, in an interview from 2014, claimed that they have been dating for more than that.

The couple got engaged in 2014 when Namajunas was 22. Although they have been in a romantic relationship for more than ten years, the precise chronology of the origin of the relationship remains shrouded in controversy to date. Fending off the raised eyebrows, Barry once explained how he fell in love with the former two-time UFC champion.

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Pat Barry’s response to people’s claims about their relationship

During an interview with Ariel Helwani after Rose Namajunas’ loss at UFC 274, Pat Barry addressed claims made about their relationship. The Roufusport coach mentioned that the misconception about his relationship with the UFC star emanated from an interview from years ago. In that interview, she 

said that she was 14 years old when she joined her fiance Barry to train in MMA, and people took it differently. Barry said, “That’s where everyone is getting this sh*t from, a botched interview. That’s where everyone is getting all that from because someone decided to write it that way.” 

Barry also mentioned that certain comments affected Rose Namajunas in her fight against Carla Esparza. He added, “It’s those types of things everywhere that cause Rose to get into the fight with Carla, and be emotional.” These allegations have been there for a long time, but Barry and Namajunas are still going strong despite the vitriol from entities like Sean Strickland.

UFC star questions Rose Namajunas and Pat Barry’s relationship

Sean Strickland doesn’t really hesitate. Sometimes it could cause him some problems like getting into beef anywhere and everywhere and that happened when he, Barry, and Rose Namjunas were on a bus. The bus was, of course, taking the fighters and teams to a promotional event for UFC 268.

It was then that Strickland asked Barry the question, “How old was she?” And that was about all that was needed to set fire to the haystack. Barry went on to blame comments like those of Strickland’s for Namajunas’ loss against Esparza at the PPV.

Rose Namajunas Payout: How Much Has the Ex-UFC Champ Earned in Her Career?

But that did not stop there because of course, why would it? Strickland would later poke Barry again by tweeting this “Here’s the thing guys 99 percent of what I say is usually wrong.. This is not that time.. @rosenamajunas!@TheAspenLadd like my post if you need help. I’ll treat Pat Berry and Jim West like they treat minors. Without consent, although it won’t be behind closed doors lmao!”

He even went on to post a meme about Barry hinting at Barry inviting interest by distributing “Free Candy” with his car. Strickland has been and perhaps always will be a menace.

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