During the UFC 251 pre-fight press conference, former women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas explored the possibility of fighting Zhang Weili next.
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Rose fought against Jessica Andrade at UFC 237. “Thug Rose” dominated her opponent for two rounds with her clean striking. However, Andrade slammed Rose for the second time and knocked her out to win the title. Since then, Rose has not competed inside the octagon. On the other hand, Andrade lost her championship to Zhang Weili.
Andrade and Rose are set to collide once again at UFC 251. Should Rose win the rematch against the Brazilian fighter, she will not shy away from fighting the reigning champion.
Rose Namajunas finds Zhang Weili’s style exciting
Zhang’s last match was against Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248. The bout was a slugfest. Both fighters landed a significant amount of damage on each other. However, Weili edged out a split decision to retain the belt.
Namajunas thinks a bout with Weili will be interesting.
“I think just fighting Weili Zhang is exciting in itself. She’s a super traditional martial artist. Just her skill-set in general, I think what makes her unique. That’s what makes it exciting. She being a new champ, I guess that kinda plays into it. But I think it’s mostly what she brings to the table.”
Moreover, Rose thinks that fighting Weili after defeating Andrade is plausible. She predicted that the champion will fight nobody else for a while.
“I don’t see for her (Zhang Weili) to fight anybody else until then. Anything can happen, but that’s what I see happening. I think she’s proven herself as a champion. Always said anybody who can beat Joanna is worthy of the belt and is somebody I want to fight.”
As far as her upcoming fight is concerned, Rose claims that she is a finisher. She said that she will finish Andrade when the opportunity presents itself.
“I always say that I’m a natural-born finisher. When I smell blood, I’m the best at that. I don’t need to force anything. I just need to be myself. Stay disciplined for 15 minutes and the finish will present itself within that.”
Rose thinks the pandemic was a blessing in disguise. She has used the time to go back to her roots and rediscover herself. The former strawweight champion is confident about winning on Saturday night.
