Rose Namajunas’ bid to become a two-weight champion continued at UFC Atlanta.
The former two-time strawweight titleholder has established herself as one of the greatest female fighters in MMA history during the past decade.
However, ‘Thug’ has found wins harder to come by since making the jump up to flyweight in 2023.
Rose Namajunas was 2-2 at 125lbs before fighting her former training partner Miranda Maverick, who threatened with a scary submission attempt before getting dropped and outpointed on Saturday night.
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Rose Namajunas vs Miranda Maverick result
Round one of the UFC Atlanta co-main event was nip-and-tuck, and contested entirely on the feet.
Things got interesting when Namajunas landed a trip in the second stanza.
The Lithuanian American dominated on top before threatening to close the show with a rear-naked choke submission, which got her into a bit of trouble.
Maverick reversed and locked up an arm triangle choke that was even closer to finishing the fight – but Namajunas managed to pop out of it and survive to hear the bell.
Namajunas reestablished control as she scored a heavy knockdown at the start of round three, which allowed her to return to the position that saw her dominate for most of round two.
In the end, all the judges scored the fight 30–27, 30–27, and 29–28 in favor of Namajunas.
What’s next for Rose Namajunas?
Rose Namajunas refused to call out anyone during her post-fight interview with Paul Felder.
A fight with flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko is what she hopes will be next.
It’s certainly the biggest matchup that can be made with anyone at 125lbs right now.
However, it’s unclear if a 3-2 run at the weight will be enough to get ‘Thug’ a title shot.
Namajunas will most likely need to win one more to become a real option for Shevchenko.