The rise to UFC super stardom for strawweight champion “Thug” Rose Namajunas has been a long one, but her talent and humility have carried her to the top of the sport. The team she’s surrounded herself with in Denver has been there to help guide her along the way, including UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje.
Namajunas was a massive underdog heading into her fight against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217 last November. The former champion tried very hard to get into Rose’s head as much as possible during the lead up to their fight. Jedrzejczyk also seemed completely unconcerned with Namajunas choosing to strike with her during their fight, and she certainly paid for it.
It took the new UFC champ only a few minutes of the first round to finish off Joanna in front of a shocked Madison Square Garden in New York City.
“Thug” Rose’s team was very confident heading into the fight, emphasizing that Rose was capable of winning the fight anywhere it went. With that said, Jedrzejczyk didn’t even get a chance to experience the elite ground skills Rose Namajunas possesses. However, her teammate Justin Gaethje wasn’t so fortunate.
Check out what happened when Namajunas grappled with Gaethje, in the video above.
