Rose Namajunas celebrates a win in the UFC (Image credit: Getty)
Thug Rose is unsure about a rematch with Zhang Weili after a stunning victory at UFC 261
Rose Namajunas earned a stunning first-round knockout victory over Zhang Weili in the co-main event of UFC 261. A perfectly executed leg kick to the head sent Weili sinking to the floor, as Namajunas clinched strawweight gold.
Thug Rose thereby, became the first woman in the UFC to win the same belt on two separate occasions. She had previously won the strawweight championship against Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 217.
Namajunas then lost her title against Jessica Andrade at UFC 237, but immediately made her way back beating Andrade in the rematch, thereby setting up a title shot against Weili at UFC 261.
Weili, on the other hand, suffered the first loss in her UFC career, and it was also her first ever knockout loss in her 23 fight career. In the immediate aftermath of her loss, Weili expressed her desire to fight Namajunas in a rematch.
Namajunas addressed this in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani of ESPN MMA. She was asked to give her thoughts on Weili wanting to take her on in a rematch.
Namajunas who is still fresh off winning the strawweight title for the second time, claimed that she had no idea honestly about it.
You’ve got to give Thug Rose some time. She deserves to bask in her glory for a while.
With Namajunas stating that she had no idea about a rematch against Zhang Weili, there are a few more options Thug Rose might consider.
She might face the winner of the upcoming bout between Carla Esparza and Yan Xiaonan on May 22 at UFC Fight Night 188. It is to be noted that, Esparza has a win over Namajunas, back in 2014, thereby becoming the first-ever women’s strawweight champion.
Yan Xiaonan has been a marauder so far in the UFC, she has no losses and is currently ranked number 3 in the strawweight division rankings.
Another option for Namajunas is her trilogy bout against Joanna Jędrzejczyk. The pair have already met twice, with Thug Rose winning both times.
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