UFC 274 could represent another special night in a career of them for Namajunas. After she competes in the co-main event, her teammate and friend Justin Gaethje competes in the headliner against lightweight champion Charles Oliveira for gold. Namajunas inspired an emotional, celebratory video from Gaethje after she finally earned the belt, and Namajunas expects to shed some tears should “The Highlight” finally earn the undisputed belt. The first and only other time the two competed on the same card was UFC 268, and both came out victorious.
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However, “Thug” Rose knows the only thing she can control is herself on fight night. She said she doesn’t experience a “switch flip” so much as just a culmination of building blocks to the moment of the fight. The hard work is done, and, at this point, it’s been done as efficiently and effectively as at any point in her fighting career. This potential achievement represents another big step for the champion, although it is driven less by revenge than it is pure competitiveness.
“Ultimately, I think beating Carla is a huge milestone for me,” she said. “Then, from there, there’s other milestones that are going to be had, but it’s just every day, live like a ninja.”
There’s a particular ease that radiates off Namajunas these days – one that kind of matches the maturity and skill level with which she operates in the Octagon. Although still south of 30 years old, Namajunas has gone through the wringer in her fight career.
From losing to Esparza in an Ultimate Fighter finale that doubled as a title fight as a 22-year-old, to her shock-the-world win over Jędrzejczyk to capture the belt, all the way until now, Namajunas maintained a certain emotional transparency, allowing those on the outside to understand her development as a person and martial artist.
