Rose Gertrude Namajunas (born June 29, 1992) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. She is signed to the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC), where she competes in the women's strawweight division and is the former two-time

UFC Women's Strawweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

. As of November 14, 2022, she is #2 in the UFC women's strawweight rankings, and as of October 17, 2022, she is #5 in the UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings.

Early life and education

Namajunas was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

on , to Lithuanian parents who had moved to the United States in September 1991. She was named Rose ( lt, Rožė) in honor of her great-grandmother Rožė Gotšalkaitė Namajūnienė, whose husband Juozas was an Independent Lithuania military officer. He enlisted in the Lithuanian military in 1933, and was promoted to lieutenant in 1936. During the

Soviet invasion of Lithuania The Soviet occupation of the Baltic states covers the period from the Soviet– Baltic mutual assistance pacts in 1939, to their invasion and annexation in 1940, to the mass deportations of 1941. In September and October 1939 the Soviet governm ...

in 1939, he fought in the resistance. After the Soviets occupied the country, Juozas was forced to enlist in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

. Following the German declaration of war on the Soviet Union and the subsequent Soviet retreat from the Baltic states, Juozas left the Red Army and retired to civilian life. When the Soviets re-occupied Lithuania, Juozas was arrested by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

and sent to a prison camp. He was killed by Soviet

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

agents near his home in 1968. Namajunas's grandfather Algimantas Andriukonis was a successful wrestler, and won national championships in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

and competitions in the USSR. Namajunas regularly visits Lithuania and communicates in the

Lithuanian language Lithuanian ( ) is an Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the official language of Lithuania and one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.8 millio ...

with her grandparents. Namajunas's father Arturas, who suffered from schizophrenia, left the family when Rose was still young and died of pneumonia in Germany in 2008, when Rose was 16. Her mother was a pianist, trained at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. Namajunas grew up in Milwaukee in a tough neighborhood, where she was a witness to violence from a young age. Her mother worked a lot and her brother was only rarely home. Her neighborhood friends nicknamed her "Thug Rose", due to the fact that she was the only white girl among them and was the smallest, yet acted tougher than any of them. Namajunas has mentioned being a victim of

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

, while emphasizing that she does not want to speak about specific details. She graduated from

Milwaukee High School of the Arts Established in 1895, Milwaukee High School of the Arts (MHSA), formerly West Division Sr. High School, is a high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is a part of the Milwaukee Public Schools system. It specializes in preparation for ...

, where she was an accomplished cross-country runner.

Martial arts training

Rose started practicing

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

at the age of 5. She earned her poom belt (junior black belt) at age 9. After that, she went on to practice both

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

and

BJJ Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

. While in high school, she started training in kickboxing and mixed martial arts with

Duke Roufus Jeffrey Ryan "Duke" Roufus (born February 19, 1970) is an American former kickboxer and head coach of the Roufusport based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. He is a well-known striking coach in North America. Career Duke Roufus started tr ...

Roufusport Roufusport (also known as Roufusport MMA Academy) is a mixed martial arts gym based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Known as one of the top gyms in MMA, it has produced two former UFC champions, Anthony Pettis (former UFC Lightweight Champion) and Tyro ...

, and she was also a senior-year

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

. Namajunas was scheduled to compete in a grappling match against Danielle Kelly on December 30, 2021, at Fury Pro Grappling 3 but was forced to withdraw from the event at the last minute due to a positive Covid-19 test and was replaced by

Carla Esparza Carla Kristen Esparza (born October 10, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which she is a former two-time UFC Women's Strawweight Cham ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Namajunas began competing in MMA as an amateur in 2010. She trained under Greg Nelson at

Minnesota Martial Arts Academy The Minnesota Martial Arts Academy is a martial arts training center in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. It was founded in 1992 by Greg Nelson, a former NCAA Division 1 wrestler at the University of Minnesota. History The Academy provides training in ...

. She racked up a perfect amateur record of 4–0 with 2 wins by TKO and 2 by decision. Both of the finishes came in the first round.

Invicta Fighting Championship

She made her professional debut against

Emily Kagan Emily Peters Kagan (born July 14, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist who last fought in the Strawweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She has also fought for Invicta FC. Mixed martial arts career Early life and career ...

at Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt on January 5, 2013. After two back-and-forth rounds, Namajunas was able to secure the victory via submission due to a rear-naked choke in round three. The victory in her pro debut also earned her the ''Submission of the Night'' bonus. In her second professional appearance, Namajunas faced Kathina Catron at Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson on April 5, 2013. She won the fight by submission due to a flying armbar just 12 seconds into the first round. This performance garnered Namajunas her second Invicta ''Submission of the Night'' award. Namajunas fought fellow undefeated prospect

Tecia Torres Tecia Lyn Torres Moncaio (born August 16, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently competing in the strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 24, 2022, she is #8 in the UFC women's straww ...

at Invicta FC 6: Coenen vs. Cyborg on July 13, 2013. Namajunas lost the fight by unanimous decision.

''The Ultimate Fighter''

On December 11, 2013, it was announced that Namajunas was signed by the

(UFC) along with 10 other strawweight fighters to compete on season 20 of ''

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

'', which would crown the first-ever UFC strawweight champion. Namajunas was the fourth pick by coach

Gilbert Melendez Gilbert Melendez (born April 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a two-time Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and a former WEC Lightwe ...

. She defeated Alex Chambers by submission due to a rear-naked choke in the preliminary round of the tournament. In the quarter-finals, Namajunas faced

Joanne Calderwood Joanne Wood (; born 23 December 1986) is a Scottish professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai champion who competed in the Women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Biography Wood first started Muay Thai ...

. She won the fight via

kimura Kimura (written: lit. "tree village") is the 17th most common Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese novelist *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese botanist *, Japanese idol and singer *, Japanese footballer *, Japanes ...

in the second round. In the semi-finals, Namajunas faced

Randa Markos Randa Cemil Markos-Thomas (born August 10, 1985) is an Iraqi-born Canadian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division. She most notably fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Personal life Markos wa ...

. She again won the fight via kimura in the first round. In the final of the tournament, she fought

on December 12, 2014 at The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned Finale for the inaugural

UFC Women's Strawweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

. She lost the bout via rear-naked choke in the third round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Despite losing in The Ultimate Fighter finale, Namajunas was awarded two season $25,000 bonus awards for ''Performance of the Season'' and ''Fight of the Season'' for her bout with

. Namajunas was expected to face

Nina Ansaroff Nina Ann Nunes (; born December 3, 1985) is an American former mixed martial artist who most competed in the women's flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Nunes was born and raised in Weston, Florida. Her materna ...

on May 23, 2015, in a preliminary bout at

UFC 187 ''UFC 187: Johnson vs. Cormier'' was a mixed martial arts event held on May 23, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was expected to be headlined by a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between then ...

. Prior to the fight, Ansaroff missed weight by 4 pounds and was fined 20 percent of her fight purse. The bout was scrapped entirely a couple of hours before the event, as Ansaroff was declared medically unfit to compete due to illness. According to Ansaroff's camp, she contracted the flu the week before, and the weight cut exacerbated the illness, forcing Ansaroff to abandon her weight cut early, and ultimately withdraw from the fight. Though the fight could not take place, Namajunas was paid her full fight purse (show- and win money). Namajunas fought

Angela Hill Angela Patrice Hill (born January 12, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division. She was formerly signed with the Invicta Fighting Championships, of which she was the strawweight champion. She is also ...

on October 3, 2015, at

UFC 192 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. After some back-and-forth striking exchanges on the feet, Namajunas took Hill down with a trip off a punch. As Hill stood up, Namajunas quickly secured a rear-naked choke, submitting Hill in the first round. In a quick turnaround, Namajunas faced streaking prospect

Paige VanZant Paige Michelle VanZant (''née'' Sletten; married name Vanderford; born March 26, 1994), is an American mixed martial artist, bare knuckle boxer, professional wrestler, author, and model. She is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling, as a wres ...

in the main event of

UFC Fight Night 80 ''UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. VanZant'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 80'') was a mixed martial arts event held on December 10, 2015, at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was expected to be headline ...

on December 10, 2015, replacing an injured

. Namajunas won the fight midway through the fifth round via submission due to a rear naked choke. The win also earned Namajunas her first ''

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

'' bonus award. On April 16, 2016, Namajunas faced the undefeated

UFC on Fox 19 ''UFC on Fox: Teixeira vs. Evans'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 19'') was a mixed martial arts event held on April 16, 2016, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Background The event was the second that the organization has hosted in the Tampa Bay A ...

in a rematch of their 2013 fight at Invicta FC 6. Namajunas won the fight via unanimous decision. On July 30, 2016, Namajunas fought

Karolina Kowalkiewicz Karolina Kowalkiewicz (born 15 October 1985) is a Polish mixed martial artist. She currently fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is the former KSW Women's Flyweight Champion. Mixed martial arts career Early career Kowalki ...

UFC 201 ''UFC 201: Lawler vs. Woodley'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 30, 2016, at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Background This was the third event that the organization has hosted in Atl ...

in a match regarded as a title eliminator. Kowalkiewicz defeated Namajunas via split decision. Both participants were awarded ''Fight of the Night'' for their performance. Namajunas faced

Michelle Waterson Michelle Eileen Waterson (born January 6, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist and model who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is the former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion. Between 2013 and 2014, she was ranked the ...

on April 15, 2017, at

UFC on Fox 24 ''UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Reis'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 24'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on April 15, 2017, at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Background The event was the f ...

. Namajunas won by submission due to a rear-naked choke in round 2, marking the 5th submission finish in her career.

Strawweight champion

Namajunas faced Strawweight champion

Joanna Jędrzejczyk Joanna Jędrzejczyk (; born August 18, 1987) is a Polish former professional mixed martial artist and Muay Thai kickboxer. She has been called the greatest female strawweight mixed martial artist of all time, including by Daniel Cormier, who cred ...

UFC 217 ''UFC 217: Bisping vs. St-Pierre'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 4, 2017, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Background The event was the second that the promot ...

at Madison Square Garden in New York on November 4, 2017. She came in as a big underdog against the undefeated champion. Namajunas, in what was regarded as a huge upset, won by KO in first round to be crowned the new

. The win also earned Namajunas her second

bonus award. This was Namajunas's first knockout victory in her professional career (2 TKO-wins as an amateur). At the UFC 217 post-fight press conference, Namajunas stated that she intended to use her champion status as a platform to spread awareness of mental illness. In the first defense of her title, Namajunas faced Jędrzejczyk in a rematch that took place on April 7, 2018, at

UFC 223 ''UFC 223: Khabib vs. Iaquinta '' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on April 7, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Background A UFC Lightweight Championship bout between i ...

. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Namajunas spent the remainder of the year recovering from a lingering case of

spinal stenosis Spinal stenosis is an abnormal narrowing of the spinal canal or neural foramen that results in pressure on the spinal cord or nerve roots. Symptoms may include pain, numbness, or weakness in the arms or legs. Symptoms are typically gradual in on ...

from a C6 vertebral

compression fracture A compression fracture is a collapse of a vertebra. It may be due to trauma or due to a weakening of the vertebra (compare with burst fracture). This weakening is seen in patients with osteoporosis or osteogenesis imperfecta, lytic lesions from ...

, symptoms of which manifested while training with Valentina and

Antonina Shevchenko Antonina Shevchenko (russian: Антонина Анатольевна Шевченко; born ) is a Kyrgyzstani and Peruvian Muay Thai fighter and mixed martial artist currently competing in the flyweight division of the UFC. She is the older sis ...

in 2017, and had intensified during training camp for UFC 223. In her second title defense, Namajunas faced

Jéssica Andrade Jéssica Fernanda da Costa Andrade (born September 25, 1991) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. Andrade is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she competes in the women's Flyweight division and is a ...

in the main event at

UFC 237 ''UFC 237: Namajunas vs. Andrade'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 11, 2019, at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The event was originally expected to be held ...

on May 11, 2019, in Andrade's home country of Brazil, in what would be Namajunas's first MMA fight outside the United States. Namajunas lost the fight by knockout via a slam in the second round. The fight earned her the ''Fight of the Night'' award.

Post-reign

Namajunas was scheduled to face

for a rematch on April 18, 2020 at

UFC 249 ''UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 9, 2020 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It was originally planned to ...

. On April 8, 2020, Namajunas withdrew from the event, with her manager citing a pair of deaths in the family related to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

as the reason. Instead the bout was rescheduled and eventually took place on July 12, 2020 at

UFC 251 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. Namajunas won the fight via split decision. This fight earned her the'' Fight of the Night'' award.

Second reign as strawweight champion

Namajunas faced

Zhang Weili Zhang Weili (; born August 13, 1989) is a Chinese mixed martial artist. She is the former Kunlun Fight (KLF) strawweight champion and competes in the strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current ...

for the

on April 24, 2021 at

UFC 261 ''UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 24, 2021 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Background The promotio ...

. She won the fight by knockout early in the first round after landing a head kick, claiming the UFC Women's Strawweight World Champion for the second time. Namajunas became the first female fighter to regain a UFC Championship belt. The win earned Namajunas a ''

'' bonus award. The rematch between Namajunas and Zhang for the

took place on November 6, 2021 at

UFC 268 ''UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 6, 2021, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. Background A UFC Welterwe ...

. After a back and forth bout, Namajunas defended her title, winning the bout via split decision. 14 out of 22 media scores gave it to Namajunas. Namajunas faced

in a rematch for the

on May 7, 2022 at

UFC 274 ''UFC 274: Oliveira vs. Gaethje'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 7, 2022, at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Background The event was originally linke ...

. Namajunas lost the fight and title via split decision in a bout that was heavily criticized for both fighter's low output. Despite the uneventful nature of the fight, Namajunas was given the first place

Crypto.com Crypto.com is a cryptocurrency exchange company based in Singapore. As of May 2022, the company reportedly had 50 million customers and 4,000 employees. The exchange issues a token, Cronos. History The company was initially founded in Hong Kon ...

''"Fan Bonus of the Night"'' award.

Fighting style

Namajunas utilizes forward movement while pressuring opponents with jabs and high kicks. She is known for her advanced technical striking and footwork, using a variety of angles and several creative adjustments. During her fight at Invicta FC 6, she directed a series of

axe kick A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee strike). This type of att ...

front kick The front kick in martial arts is a kick executed by lifting the knee straight forward, while keeping the foot and shin either hanging freely or pulled to the hip, and then straightening the leg in front of the practitioner and striking the targe ...

s, and forward

roundhouse kick A roundhouse kick (also known as round kick or turning kick) is a kick in which the practitioner lifts the knee while turning the supporting foot and body in a semicircular motion, extending the leg striking with the lower part of the shin and/ ...

s to her opponent's head. After closing the distance, she will sometimes attempt to grapple and execute a submission.

Personal life

Namajunas is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, and is an

anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

. Prior to her first bout against Chinese fighter

, Namajunas spoke of the history of communist oppression in her ancestral homeland

and mentioned the documentary '' The Other Dream Team'' as an inspiration. She said the documentary gives a "good idea as to what my family had to go through, the reason I'm in the United States today, the reason that I do mixed martial arts, all of that stuff". She said that she viewed her fight with Zhang as symbolizing a fight between communism and freedom, saying that "Weili is red" and "represents ommunism, relating it to her family's history under the former

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

regime in Lithuania, and stating that it is " better dead than red". In a further interview, Namajunas stated that her comments were not directed personally at Zhang, and said it was more about her own "internal battles" as well as some " generational PTSD". Zhang later said she ignored Namajunas's comments, stating "I believe as an athlete you have to focus on yourself." In describing her background and motivation for fighting, Namajunas stated, "I’ve got the

Christ consciousness Higher consciousness is the consciousness of God or, in the words of Dawn DeVries, "the part of the human mind that is capable of transcending animal instincts". While the concept has ancient roots, it was significantly developed in German ideali ...

, I’ve got Lithuanian blood and I’ve got the American dream."

Family

Namajunas is the fiancée and training partner of former Glory and UFC heavyweight Pat Barry. Namajunas and Barry met at Duke Roufus' gym, where Barry started training after losing his home to

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

in 2005, while Namajunas started training there during high school. Barry says he fell in love with Namajunas the first time he saw her. In a December 2014 interview, Barry said that he and Namajunas had been dating "for almost five years now", while Namajunas felt like it was "two or three years". The couple got engaged in 2014. UFC middleweight

Sean Strickland Sean Thomas Strickland (born February 27, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, he is the former King of ...

has been openly critical of this relationship, describing it as predatory, given that Namajunas was allegedly 14 or 15 years old when she and Barry, who was 28, met. Namajunas herself has admitted that Barry and her “Were apparently together a lot longer than hewas aware of,” and that “It took him a while to chip away at erheart, but he did.” Namajunas has a brother named Nojus, who once operated a private piano studio. Namajunas herself has played the piano since the age of five. Nojus also is a mixed martial artist, and made his professional debut in March 2021.

Championships and accomplishments

*Lithuanian American National Hall of Fame - Class of 2019 *

ESPY Award An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the form ...

nominee (

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

for Best Fighter and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

for Best MMA Fighter) * Kids' Choice Sports 2018 Award for Biggest Powerhouse (nominee) *Eighth Annual Real Women Awards - 2017 Woman of the Year

Mixed martial arts

(Two time; Former) ***Two successful title defenses (overall) **** One successful title defense (first reign) **** One successful title defense (second reign) **

(Three times) vs.

, and

** Fight of the Night (Three times) vs.

and

(x2) **Tied (with

Amanda Lemos Amanda Oliveira de Lemos (born May 22, 1987) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of November 8, 2022, she is #3 in the UFC women's strawweight rankings, and as o ...

) for most finishes in UFC Women's Strawweight division history (5) **First woman in UFC history to regain a championship title after losing it ** Holds victories over three former UFC Women's Strawweight Champions -

, and

** The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned (Runner-Up) *** TUF 20 Fight of the Season vs.

*** TUF 20 Performance of the Season vs.

Invicta FC Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is currentl ...

**Submission of the Night (Two times) vs.

, Kathina Catron *

**''Fan Bonus of the Night'' *Fighter of the Year **2017 MMA Fighter of the Year ***

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, MMASucka,

MMA Fighting ''MMA Fighting'' is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). Founded in 2001, the site is notable for its breaking news coverage, podcast series, and ''The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani''. Overview ''MMAFighting.com'' w ...

(Top 5: #4), MMA Mania (Top 5: #4), RealSport (Top 5: #3) MMADNA **2017 UFC Fighter of the Year ***

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W 5 ...

(Top 5: #3) **2017 MMA Female Fighter of the Year ***

World MMA Awards The World MMA Awards are awards presented by ''Fighters Only'' magazine to honor exceptional performance in various aspects of mixed martial arts. Winners are presented with the ''Fighters Only silver statuette''. The World MMA Awards are divided ...

Yahoo Sports Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. Bef ...

MMAjunkie MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and is owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time'' magazine'', ''ESPN The Magazine'', ''The N ...

, Cageside Press, Combat Press, SevereMMA, MMA Today (Top 50: #1), Awakening Fighters, Promoting Real Women **2021 MMA Female Fighter of the Year ***

(July 1, 2020–June 30, 2021), Cageside Press, Combat Press **2021 Women's MMA MVP ***

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

*Upset of the Year **2017 MMA Upset of the Year vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk ***

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

, MMAjunkie, MMA Fighting, MMA Weekly, Metro.co.uk, Combat Press, Fight Booth, MMASucka, The MMA Takeover, SevereMMA, Bloody Elbow (Top 3: #1) **2017 UFC Upset of the Year vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk ***Sport360, Pundit Arena, Per Sources *Submission of the Year **2013 MMA Submission of the Year vs. Kathina Catron ***

(nominee), MMA Weekly, The MMA Corner **2013 Women's MMA Submission of the Year vs. Kathina Catron ***

Bleacher Report Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in Aug ...

, Bloody Elbow, WMMA Press Association, Awakening Fighters, Promoting Real Women **2015 Women's MMA Submission of the Year vs.

***Awakening Fighters **2017 Women's MMA Submission of the Year vs. Michelle Waterson ***Awakening Fighters (community) *Knockout of the Year **2017 Women's MMA Knockout of the Year vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk ***Awakening Fighters (community), Promoting Real Women *Fight of the Year **2013 Women's MMA Fight of the Year vs. Tecia Torres ***Bleacher Report *Fight of the Month ** 2019 May Fight of the Month vs.

***

MMAJunkie.com MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and is owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine'', ''ESPN The Ma ...

** 2020 July Fight of the Month vs.

***

*Year's Most Violent **2017 Fight Booth Lady Violence Award **Sherdog.com's 2015 All-Violence Second Team: Strawweight **Sherdog.com's 2017 All-Violence Second Team: Strawweight

Mixed martial arts record

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Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

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New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

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Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

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Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

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Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

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New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

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Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

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Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

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Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

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Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin Lac du Flambeau is a town in Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,004 at the 2000 census. The land base of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is located within the town and also consists of a large portion ...

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Walker, Minnesota Walker is a city in Cass County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 941 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cass County. Walker is part of the Brainerd Micropolitan Statistical Area. Minnesota State Highways 34, 200, an ...

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West Allis, Wisconsin West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Histo ...

References

External links

Rose Namajunas Awakening Profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Namajunas, Rose 1992 births Living people Strawweight mixed martial artists Sportspeople from Milwaukee American anti-communists American Christians American people of Lithuanian descent American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu American female mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Minnesota Mixed martial artists from Wisconsin Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American female taekwondo practitioners American female karateka Ultimate Fighting Championship champions Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters 21st-century American women

Early life and education

Martial arts training

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Invicta Fighting Championship

''The Ultimate Fighter''

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Strawweight champion

Post-reign

Second reign as strawweight champion

Fighting style

Personal life

Family

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links