ABU DHABI – Rose Namajunas is back and says she’s mentally and physically prepared.
It’s been a while since fight fans have seen Namajunas (8-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) compete in the cage – 14 months, to be exact. Despite losing the strawweight title in her most recent outing, the long layoff since and withdrawing from an April bout for personal reasons, Namajunas says she’s in a good place entering UFC 251.
“I’ve been pretty calm and cool this whole time, just really confident in my preparation,” Namajunas told MMA Junkie at a pre-fight media day held Wednesday. “I’m not worried as much as I usually am. … I think it’s just experience, time in, and just the preparation. It was a really good training camp.”
Over the past couple of years, Namajunas’ level of enjoyment fighting has fluctuated. At one point, Namajunas even considered retirement. There have been ups and downs, but Namajunas said it’s been all about learning how her body and mind function best.
“I knew that there was a part of me that wanted to get back in there as soon as that happened,” Namajunas said. “At the same time, I knew that I had to be 100 percent committed, and I had to be 100 percent interested because I was kind of getting bored with training. I was just not very inspired by anything. I knew that that’s just not a safe way to fight. Even as good as I am, I have to be interested. This is already not a safe sport, but if you’re not interested, it’s super dangerous.”
Even in the midst of a global pandemic, Namajunas has figured out how to comfortably operate. In fact, the 28-year-old said she’s, in some ways, benefited from societal shifts. A self-proclaimed pre-pandemic social distancer, Namajunas has found silver linings in the “new normal.”
“Obviously, the whole global pandemic is a tragedy,” Namajunas said. “At the same time, there’s been a lot of huge benefits I’ve found to this – not just with the fight week being a little bit different. I’ve really always been a social distancer just in general. I’ve really cut out a bunch of other things that I didn’t even know that I was doing that I didn’t want to do. It’s really been a huge perspective shifter for me.
“I can definitely see the positive impact it has on a lot of other people’s lives. Everyone I know is growing gardens and realizing the importance of knowing where your food comes from. That’s been huge. There’s been a lot of silver linings in this whole process.”
UFC 251 takes place Saturday at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
'Calm and cool' Rose Namajunas details rebuild to fighting comfortably before UFC 251