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“It Just Was a Wake-Up Call for Me” – Rose Namajunas Opens up on Personal Tragedy

Published 06/30/2020, 4:57 PM EDT

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While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entire sporting world, few athletes have dealt with it more closely than the others. Rose Namajunas lost two of her family members due to the global pandemic. The loss even led to her withdrawing from UFC 249. Following a period of silence since the unfortunate incident, Namajunas has opened up on how she dealt with the loss.

The former strawweight champion last stepped foot inside the Octagon against Jessica Andrade in May last year. Andrade slammed her way to victory in the fight and won the 115-pounds UFC belt as well. While the Brazilian would fight and lose later in the same year, Namajunas stayed away from the action. At one point she even contemplated moving away from the sport.

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She would later put that thought to rest. ‘Thug Rose’ had planned her return to the Octagon on April 18th in a rematch against Andrade. However, the pandemic forced the event to be shifted to May 9th. Moreover, it also played a decisive factor in removing Namajunas from the card.

“They were living in a hot spot where COVID-19 was,” Namajunas told ESPN. “They came down with it and got put on ventilators and shortly [after], in a few days, it just happened like that. Passed away.”

The loss of two family members deeply affected her. Hence, fighting at that time didn’t seem to be the best idea. However, Rose Namajunas discovered a new source of strength. That has helped her move through the tough times and get her desire back to fight.

Rose Namajunas has learned that everything is temporary in life

Rose has her next task cut out for her. She will fight Jessica Andrade on July 4th on Fight Island. The journey from about two months ago to now has been an eye-opening experience for her. As a fighter, she has dealt with highly dangerous circumstances. Even then, death managed to move her to the core.

“We deal with the worst, we face death in the face all the time … or just serious injuries and things like that. So, for the whole world to get shut down for a virus at first seemed like, ‘What is this?’ We didn’t even know it was real. And then it hit home, and it was close to family. It scared me. It shook me up a little bit.”

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Namajunas accepted that losing two close ones within seven days led to her pushing the reset button. Moreover, it has made her realize that no matter how hard she tries, some things will always be out of her control. Therefore, she has made a resolute decision to keep focussing on her passion and get better at her craft.

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“Everything was looking good and then everything just fell apart. It just was a wake-up call for me. I can’t control anything but myself, and that’s what’s the most important [thing]. Even though it was very tragic, I learned a lot from it.”

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“That’s all we can do. Keep praying and know this life is temporary. Everything is temporary, not everyone is the same, but what helps me is believing in my higher power and knowing that I have a purpose, and this my purpose right now.”

With her return to the Octagon, Namajunas will look for a victory against Andrade. The current champ Zhang Weili has high praise for Rose. A win over Andrade will possibly set a meeting between the two.

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Written by:

Rishabh Singh

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Rishabh Singh is an MMA author at EssentiallySports since 2020. An engineer in the making, his love for combat sports began by watching Anderson Silva light people up inside the Octagon. When he isn't busy in his technical pursuits, he is an avid reader with a love for sports in general and sporting history in particular.
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