Table of Biography
Rose Namajunas is an American Professional Mixed Martial Artist along the winner of UFC Woman’s strawweight Champion. Rose Namajunas is also ranked number 2 in UFC Woman’s Pound for Pound rankings in the year 2021, December 13.
Early Life
Rose Gertrude Namajunas was born on June 29, 1992 (age 29 years) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. Her birth name was Rose Gertrude Namajunas which was named after her great-grandmother Roze Gotsalkaite Namajuniene. She was born to Lithuanian parents under the Baltic ethnic group. Similarly, she follows Christianity and American Nationality.
Her birth zodiac sign is Cancer. Her father Arturas was a Schizophrenic patient and died due to Pneumonia in Germany in 2008 while she was 16 years old. Likewise, her mother was a pianist who got training from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.
Further Details
During her childhood, her neighboring friend named her Thug Rose due to her white and small body structure and tough nature. Her great-grandfather was an Independent Lithuanian military officer who enlisted in the 1993 Lithuania Military Officer. He fought during the Soviet Invasion of Lithuania in 1939.
Her grandfather Algimantas Andriukonis was a successful wrestler who won national competitions in Lithuania as well as the USSR. Further, Rose Gertrude Namajunas has been the victim of Sexual Abuse during her childhood and wishes to not mention the specifics.
As per her educational status, Rose Gertrude Namajunas is a strong, bold, and thought girl from childhood she was very good at sports. She completed her schooling at Milwaukee High School of the Arts with the title of Accomplished cross-country runner.
Professional Career
Rose Namajunas has achieved the great titles of Mixed Martial Artist(MMA), UFC, and Women’s Strawweight Division championship. At an early phase, she started her MMA career in 2010 as an amateur trained under Greg Nelson. She trained at Minnesota Martial Arts Academy and won with a perfect match of 4-0 record. After that, she made her professional MMA debut at Invicta FC: Esparza vs. Hyatt against Emily Kagan on January 5, 2013.
Through her victory in the first match, she faced another competition at Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson against Kathina Catron on April 5, 2013. Following the double victory, she competes against Tecia Torres at Invicta FC6: Coenen vs. Cyborg. Unfortunately, she lost the match but she was announced that she was signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship(UFC) along with other 10 strawweight fighters to compete in 20 seasons of The Ultimate Fighter.
Ultimate Fighting Championship Career(UFC)
Rose Namajunas received her training under coach Gilbert Melendez and reached the finals. In her first match, she got a victory against Alex Chamber, and in the quarter-finals, she won a victory against Joanne Calderwood. But she lost her last final match against Carla Esparza at The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion and will be crowned Finale on December 12, 2014. Despite losing the final she was awarded a cash of $25,000 bonus award. Besides she was faced with a challenge against Nina Ansaroff in the Preliminary bout at UFC 187. But due to medical illness and other circumstances, Nina had to withdraw from the game and Namajunas was given the full prize money.
Further, she had her second match against Angela Hill at UFC 192 on October 3, 2015, and scored the victory. Following another match in the Main Event of UFC Fight Night 80, she won against Paige Vanzant. She won the Performance of the Night bonus award for her remarkable performance. Following the championship, she won against Tecia Torres on April 16, 2016, and Michelle Waterson on April 15, 2017. She lost the match against Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC 201 with a split decision, but both of them got awards for Fight of the Night.
Rose Namajuna after her first victory at the UFC Championship(Source: Instagram)
Strawweight Championship
Simultaneously, after her victory in the UFC Championship, she faced another match against strawweight championship Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217. The match took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, on November 4, 2017, where Jonna proved to be an underdog undefeated championship. Having said that, everyone was impressed with Namajunas with her performance won by KO.
She earned huge respect with the crown and title of UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion and Performance of the Night bonus award. This was her first knockout victory and with the title, she also raised awareness against mental illness. In her first defense of the title, the rematch took place against Jedrzejczyk on April 7, 2018, at UFC 223.
After the match, she spent the year recovering from Lingering’s case of Spinal Stenosis from a c6 Vertebral Compression Fracture. In her second defense match, she faced Jessica Andrade at UFC 237 on Mat 11, 2019 but lost the fight by KO. After her recovery, she had her first match with Jessica Andrade for the rematch on April 18, 2020, at UFC 249. The match was withdrawn due to the COVID-19 pandemic following the death of family and relatives. It was rescheduled for July 12, 2020, at UFC 251; but Namajunas won by a split decision and earned the Fight of the Night Award.
More Details
Further, Rose Namajunas faced Zhang Weili at the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship on April 24, 2021, at UFC 261 and won the fight via KO. This was her second time claiming the UFC Women’s Strawweight World Championship with the Performance of the Night bonus award. She created history by being the first female fighter to regain the UFC Championship belt for the second time.
The match took place on November 6, 2021, at UC 268. Moreover Rose was scheduled for another match against Danielle Kelly on December 30, 2021. However, she had to blackout at the last movement due to the positive result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Later Carla Esparza competes in the match. Despite her popularity and fame, she has not received any brand endorsement deals as of now. However, it is possible that in the near future, she might start to endorse brands.
Rose Namajunas after her second victory at the UFC Championship(Source: Instagram)
Awards and Nominations
During her successful career, she has been part of many awards and nominations. Moving towards her huge achievements she was ESPY Award Nominee for Best Fighter 2018 and Best MMA Fighter 2021. Likewise, she was a nominee for the Kids Choice Sports 2018 Award for Biggest Powerhouse. Similarly, her other award was the Eighth Annual Real Women Awards 2017 Women of the Year.
Further during her mixed martial arts, she won the title of Ultimate Fighting Championship(twice), Fighter of the Year, Upset of the Year, Submission of the Year Knockout of the Year, and more. In addition, she won Fight of the Year, Fight of the Month, and Year’s Most Violent awards during her championship career.
Rose Namajunas posing with her friends after winning the championship(Source: Instagram)
Net Worth
Looking at her career analysis Rose Namajunas has had a historic win at her most of the matches. Following that she has an estimated net worth of around $1,786,500 approx as her son till 2021. This sum does not include her bonus, sponsorship, and rebook flights. Having said that her hard work has paid her a very happy life and career. Her journey is commendable and today she is one of the biggest MMA Stars.
Relationship Status
Rose Namajunas got engaged to former Glory and UFC Heavyweight Pat Barry. The duo had their engagement in 2014 after 5 years of dating. They met each other at Duke Roufus Gym where Barry started training after he lost his home during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Following that Rose started training during high school and both of them had their love at first sight and together since then. They are happy together and living a blissful life. Soon we hope to hear their marriage announcement.
Rose Namajunas posing with her Fiancee after winning the championship (Source: Instagram)
Rose Gertrude Namajunas – Body Status
The MMA Star with Black, and brown Bet in Taekwondo and Karate, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has a great body physique. Rose Namajunas is a fitness freak with a height of 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 52 kg. Her body measurements are unknown as of now. She has short hair with a calm personality. Besides that, she has a blue color eye with Blonde hair color. She prefers short hair and does not have any tattoos.
Rose Gertrude Namajunas – Social Media
Talking about their social media status, Rose Namajunas has a great fan following all over. Because she is an international star she has around 2.5 Million followers on Instagram. Likewise, she has around 271.6k followers on Twitter and around 1.4 Million followers on Facebook. The champion has a large fan following and the count is still increasing.