DAZN: “Thug Rose” becomes champion once again
April 25, 2021
When she lost the women’s strawweight title to Jessica Andrade at UFC 237, Rose Namajunas knew if she regained the belt that she’d be ready to handle what it takes to be the champion.
That time is now for “Thug Rose” as she defeated Zhang Weili via knockout at 1:18 of the first round to regain the strawweight championship at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. on Saturday night.
“I did it again! God did it, but I just had to have faith in him, but that’s what got me through,” Namajunas told Joe Rogan in her post-fight interview.
Before the bell sounded, there were loud chants for Namajunas and thunderous boos for Weili. The former champion came out and with the plan of throwing inside leg kicks while Namajunas was peppering her with jabs.
After an exchange of strikes, Namajunas feinted low and snapped a head kick that sent Weili’s head bouncing off the canvas. Namajunas connected on two hammerfists and referee Keith Peterson stepped right in to stop the fight, much to the chagrin of Weili, who let it be known to Peterson that it was a bad stoppage.
“I didn’t see her moving,” Namajunas said. “I wasn’t sure if she was gonna come back from that. Just a couple of hammerfists and that’s how it went.”
Namajunas (11-4) is the first woman to regain a belt in her original weight class. For Weili (21-2), her 20-fight winning streak has been snapped.
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