Rose Namajunas

2022 - 5 - 8

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Bleacher Report"

Carla Esparza Beats Rose Namajunas by Decision at UFC 274 to ... (Bleacher Report)

Seven years after becoming the first women's strawweight champion in UFC history, Carla Esparza has reclaimed the title with a split decision victory over ...

She is the only strawweight fighter with multiple wins over the Wisconsin native. Coming into this bout, Namajunas only had one slip up in the past five years. It was the only time in Namajunas' career that she was submitted and just one of two times she has lost a fight via stoppage coming into Saturday's event. She also held the Invicta FC strawweight championship prior to signing with UFC. Neither fighter seemed interested in taking any risks in the fight. Namajunas won 48-47 on the scorecard of one judge.

Carla Esparza tops Rose Namajunas for strawweight title in low ... (ESPN)

Carla Esparza beat Rose Namajunas for the UFC strawweight title in a fight where very little happened across five rounds.

Ultimately, Esparza, 34, moved to 2-0 over Namajunas -- and it's unclear whether the sport would even allow a third matchup to happen. It was a fight in which neither woman appeared to have any confidence in her skill set. A third had it for Namajunas 48-47.

Twitter reacts to Carla Esparza's title win over Rose Namajunas in ... (MMA Junkie)

See the top Twitter reactions to Carla Esparza's title-winning upset of Rose Namajunas in the UFC 274 co-main event.

Rose Namajunas on UFC 274 loss to Carla Esparza: 'I thought I won ... (Yahoo Sports)

Rose Namajunas lost her women's strawweight title in the UFC 274 co-main event rematch against former champion Carla Esparza on Saturday.

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Carla Esparza edges Rose Namajunas in major snoozefest at UFC ... (Empire Sports Media)

In the co-main event of UFC 274 we saw a rematch of the very first strawweight title fight in the promotion's history. The champion "Thug"...

Namajunas lands a couple of nice strikes but then Esparza gets in and slams her to the ground. Esparza gets in and gets shrugged off but lands a nice kick to the body. Nice connection from Namajunas and then she lands a 1-2, but it wasn’t super clean. Namajunas lands a nice right hand over the top. Entering the final round at UFC 274 and whoever wins this round likely wins the fight but who the hell knows. Entering the fourth at UFC 274 and I think Esparza might be a couple of rounds ahead. Esparza tries blitzing but catches a counter from the champion. Nothing lands and Namajunas lands a jab. Namajunas attempts to throw her jab, but it’s Esparza that lands a nice left hook. The second starts and Esparza tries with a 1-2, but doesn’t land. Entering the third at UFC 274 and that might have been the most uneventful two rounds of a title fight in history. Esparza tries a combination, but again, well short of the mark.

UFC 274 live blog: Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza 2 (MMA Fighting)

Follow the live blog for Rose Namajuna vs. Carla Esparza 2, the strawweight title fight at UFC 274 on Saturday in Phoenix.

Namajunas then reclaimed the title with a first-round KO of Zhang Weili at UFC 261, and after winning their rematch, the strawweight champion is now looking to put together a real championship legacy. Esparza finally got things back on track beginning in 2019 though, and she has now won five in a row to earn her second opportunity at UFC gold. Namajunas and Esparza met in the finals of that tournament, with Esparza submitting “Thug Rose” in the third round to claim the inaugural title.

UFC 274: Carla Esparza captures strawweight crown with ... (Yahoo New Zealand News)

It wasn't pretty, but Carla Esparza is once again the UFC strawweight queen. Esparza defeated champion Rose Namajunas by split decision at UFC 274 in ...

Rose Namajunas after UFC 274 title loss to Carla Esparza: 'I won ... (MMA Junkie)

Rose Namajunas was proud that she "stuck to the strategy" in her rematch with Carla Esparza – but it cost her the title.

“I would do a rematch,” she said. “I feel like there’s something to be learned from each loss.” I felt like I was scoring.” “I knew I was scoring. “I struck to the strategy,” Namajunas said. … I felt like I did the damage.

Rose Namajunas believes she should have won at UFC 274: 'I don't ... (MMA Fighting)

Rose Namajunas trying not to be 'salty' but believes she beat Carla Esparza at UFC 274.

“Carla, I really respect what she does in there, but at the same time, only so much to the point where I don’t see how you become the champion like that,” Namajunas said. I think maybe the judges just wanted to see a slugfest like it was in previous fights or something so they weren’t appreciative of good strategy, but like I said, I’m always in exciting fights. “I’ll have to go back and watch it but I do remember landing nice uppercuts, and even some of the punches that weren’t super solid but were just keeping her at bay, making contact, I felt like I was not just making the damage but controlling the fight. “I stuck to the strategy. So I thought I won. “I won that fight,” Namajunas said.

Rose Namajunas

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