Former UFC women’s strawweight champ “Thug” Rose Namajunas is sticking with the flyweight division for the time being.
In an announcement Friday evening, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that Namajunas will headline the promotion’s March 23, 2024 Fight Night event opposite Amanda Ribas. News of the booking had previously been revealed by MMA HOJE.
Namajunas (11-6) has dropped-back-to-back fights including her promotional flyweight debut against Manon Fiorot last year. Prior to the move up to 125lbs, “Thug” Rose had lost her 115lb crown to Carla Esparza in a lackluster showing at UFC 274 in May 2022.
Now 31-years old, Rose Namajunas is a two-time UFC strawweight champion. She sits tied with Weili Zhang for the second-most title fight wins in the history of the UFC’s 115lb division.
Ribas (13-4) has been trading wins and losses all the way back to 2020; most recently, the upbeat Brazilian finished Luana Pinheiro care of a spinning back elbow in a strawweight bout. Ribas, however, has been juggling weight classes, competing twice as a strawweight since her 2020 flyweight debut.
The UFC’s March 23, 2024 Fight Night show is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The following match-ups have been reported for the card:
- Montserrat Rendon vs. Darya Zheleznyakova
- Stephanie Luciano vs. Shauna Bannon
- Luis Pajuelo vs. Fernando Padilla
- Steven Nguyen vs. Jarno Errens
- Davey Grant vs. Cody Gibson
- Ricardo Ramos vs. Julian Erosa
- Kurt Holobaugh vs. Trey Ogden
- Rose Namajunas vs. Amanda Ribas
