Rose Namajunas says she has no plans to move back down to strawweight as she is still targeting becoming a two-weight UFC champion at flyweight.
The American is a two-time strawweight champion and considered one of the best fighters ever at 115lb, but her fortunes at flyweight (125lb) have been mixed with a 2-2 record since 2023.
Namajunas, 32, faces Miranda Maverick on Saturday in Atlanta and says she would only return to strawweight for a big fight.
“I know that people try to tell me what to do or advice about my career. I know myself and I know what I’m doing. Yeah maybe I had some mixed results. But there are a lot of factors that go into it, that people don’t know about,” Namajunas said at a UFC media day.
“I’ve already got to the top of [the strawweight division]. With the time I have left in my career, this is the next biggest challenge.
“It got to the point at 115lb I had so many rematches and I was fighting the same people. I have that goal of becoming two-division champion.”
Namajunas lost a points decision to Erin Blanchfield in her last outing in November, describing it as hitting a “speed bump” and has also been beaten by title contender Manon Fiorot.
The Milwaukee native, who is 13-7 overall in her MMA career, says her goal is to earn a title shot.
“I still feel like it’s possible and it’s very in reach. I was actually in this position before at 115lb where I was making a title run and I fought Karolina [Kowalkiewicz] in Atlanta many years ago,” she said.
“I thought I was getting that title shot right after that and I lost and I had to rebuild myself. Here I am again.”
Namajunas may soon welcome an old rival to the strawweight division with champion Zhang Weili tipped to move up and fight flyweight belt holder Valentina Shevchenko.
Namajunas is also chasing a bout with Shevchenko and has two wins over Weili at strawweight.
Asked how she thought that fight could go, she said: “Weili has a chance, she probably has a better chance than most other people.
“Valentina, she’s my favourite. I look up to her, she’s amazing. I believe she’s the better martial artist and I think that would make the difference in the fight.”
Another big fight on the horizon in women’s MMA is Kayla Harrison v Amanda Nunes.
Two-weight champion Nunes will come out of retirement to fight new bantamweight champion Harrison.
“It would be interesting to see how Kayla Harrison deals with Amanda’s striking.
“That might be the big question. Kayla, her striking is getting better and better every time she gets in there. It will be interesting if Kayla can get her hands on Amanda.
“But Amanda has got great jiu-jitsu and she’s super strong.”
