Will Namajunas prove herself?
UFC Fight Night 80 is in the books and with it a pretty eye opening main event between Rose Namajunas and Paige VanZant. The bout was a perfect example of why mixed martial arts is so exciting. The fight was contested on the feet, in the clinch, and on the ground. In the end it was Namajunas that used a well designed game plan to completely dominate VanZant from the first bell to the fight ending submission. Though Paige VanZant was the betting favorite going into the bout, it was Rose Namajunas that truly looked like a future champion in the making. She used well placed, technical, and patient striking to out duel Paige on the feet. When the two ended up in the clinch it was Rose who controlled the position and was able to easily get her opponent to the ground. When it was time to see who had the better grappling Rose was clearly the more polished and dominant of the two, passing Paige’s guard with ease and achieving mount several times. In the fifth and final round, after numerous submission attempts and battering elbows that left VanZant beaten and bloodied, it was the rear naked choke from Namajunas that brought a halt to the bout. There’s no doubting that Paige VanZant is an absolute warrior with tons of heart, but Rose Namajunas was just more technically sound everywhere in the fight. Both women are still in their early twenties which means they’ll have plenty of time to improve upon their skill sets. For now only one will be a true contender for that Strawweight belt held by none other than Joanna Jedrzejczyk. With such a devastating performance put forth by Rose Namajunas you have to wonder if the 23 year old will be next up for a title shot. Joanna Jedrzejczyk will first have to face Claudia Gadelha in a rematch of their December 2014 showdown. But since MMA is in part all about making the match ups fans want to see, you have wonder: what would a match between Joanna and Rose would look like? At her current level Rose Namajunas is looking like the world beater that many touted her as when she first made her debut in the UFC. She has the striking, the wrestling, and the grappling to give any woman at Strawweight fits and she’s only going to get better. Joanna is an amazing striker with some good defensive wrestling ability which means that a fight between the two could play out in two ways: either a purely striking affair (which would have me salivating) or a high energy scramble fest filled with striking, wrestling, and grappling all around the octagon (something that’s equally appealing). Only time will tell if Namajunas gets the chance to prove herself against the Strawweight champion whether that be Jedrzejczyk or Gadelha. One thing is certain, whoever is standing across the cage from Rose Namajunas, they better be damn well prepared for one hell of a fight. Do you think Rose Namajunas will become the future Strawweight champion? Let us know in the comments and forums. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron MMA on Facebook and Twitter.
