Former two-time UFC strawweight champion, now a flyweight Rose Namajunas looked to find her way to a title shot at 125 starting with Miranda Maverick at UFC Atlanta on Saturday night.
Namajunas (13-7) is the former queen of the 115ers but she made the move to 125 after dropping two-in-a-row at strawweight. 2-1 in her run at flyweight so far she has victories over Amanda Ribas and Tracy Cortez. She dropped a decision to Erin Blanchfield last November, but looked to right the ship against Maverick.
Maverick (15-5) came into this fight with 4 straight victories. Wins over Jamey-Lyn Horth, Dione Barbosa, Andre Lee and Priscila Cachoeira set her up for a shot at Namajunas. The 27-year-old believes a win over Namajunas supercharges her road to a title shot.
Round 1 Maverick tried to get in close with Namajunas using her jab to keep her at bay. Namajunas put the pressure on Maverick, but the younger flyweight wasn’t giving up much real estate choosing to rush forward with a combo.
Maverick landed a big left hand as Namajunas entered range which cause the former champ to slip down, but she popped back up quick. The combo gave Maverick some confidence as she began to use more power in her combos.
Round 2 Maverick came out firing a combo quick and landed. Then she began to force the action a bit, and Namajunas made her pay for it with a combo of her own. Namajunas continued her somewhat plodding footwork trying to find an angle and create power as she attacks. Not much landed using that strategy however.
Namajunas scored a slick takedown landing on top in open guard. Maverick worked to her hands and knees trying to get to her feet, but Namajunas wasn’t making it easy as she turned into a human backpack. Maverick shed one hook, but then Namajunas dragged her down and stayed on the back.
The same exact sequence happened again as Maverick almost got to her feet. Namajunas had an arm under the chin looking for the choke, but she couldn’t get it. Maverick powered out, took the back, then ended up on top in arm triangle position. She tried to finish the fight, but Namajunas defended and survived.
Round 3 Maverick came out and shot on Namajunas first. Namajunas defended well on the fence as Maverick looked for a trip.
A very fast left hook dropped Maverick and Namajunas landed on top almost in side control. Maverick, while recovering, managed to get her right leg into play as a shield. Namajunas shed it quickly and ended up in half guard.
Namajunas looked for an arm triangle but her legs weren’t in play so she let it go. Maverick was able to power out and sweep, but Namajunas swept her right back and ended up in side control.
Maverick tried to go belly down, but Namajunas did well to keep position. The fight ended with Namajunas on top. After the horn Maverick stood up limping as she clearly injured something in her left leg.
Official Result: Rose Namajunas def. Miranda Maverick via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
