Rose Namajunas Believes UFC 274 Is “Huge Step” Towards Proving She’s Strawweight GOAT

Phoenix, AZ — Eight years is an awfully long time between fights. But that’s the amount of time that has passed since Carla Esparza and “Thug” Rose Namajunas first shared the octagon together.

The occasion was the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 20, which ushered the women’s strawweight division into the UFC. The two were vastly different fighters then; Namajunas, raw, just 2-1 officially when she faced Esparza, a former Invicta FC champ, for the title.

Esparza won that night, only to cough the belt up to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in her first title defense. Years later, Namajunas would topple Jedrzejczyk, then defeat her in a rematch.

Now, Namajunas herself is on her second title reign, and has built up one of the most impressive resumes in women’s fighting history. She’s won rematches against two of the four women to ever beat her, Tecia Torres and Jessica Andrade. She’d like to avenge a third loss at UFC 274 this Saturday — and inch closer to being the women’s strawweight GOAT. That’s a title Namajunas (11-4) foresees in the cards another eight years down the line.

“I see a story. If you’re a fan, you’re in for a great ride. I think what I see is, I’m clearly the best, obviously, it’s just a question of whether I’m the greatest in the division of all time,” Rose said during Wednesday’s UFC 274 media day, asked about what she sees down the road. “And I think this is a huge step towards that for me. And that’s the big test.”

The fighter who admits she never liked the word “legacy” when other fighters used it is now building just that.

Eight years is, as mentioned, a long time, and Namajunas has learned a lot since then. She’s also been very successful in rematches: besides Torres and Andrade, fighters who beat her, she’s 2-0 against Jedrzejczyk and Weili Zhang.

“I think all of these fights are unique to themselves. I think all of the lessons I take in with me, but I just apply it as needed,” the 115 pound champ said of what she’s taken away from those performances. “Some of the things I might not need, and then some of the things I might need and need to call upon. And sometimes there’s improvisation. But ultimately it’s really about discipline, consistency, and sticking to the game plan for this fight. That’s going to be the key for my success.”

Another key: focus. Having lost to Esparza once before, albeit early in her career, Namajunas refuses to look past her.

“If there was ever a time just to be focused on this one, it’s definitely this fight. Carla is no joke, she’s very worthy, it would be a huge accomplishment to beat her and avenge this loss. That’s all that I’m thinking about. Obviously there’s other girls in the division, there’s always gonna be, but she’s the biggest test and the biggest challenge for me at the moment.”

Rose Namajunas defends her strawweight title against Carla Esparza at UFC 274 on Saturday, May 7, 2022 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Check out Namajunas’ full media day scrum above. More coverage can be found below.