"He's so masterful with it" - Rose Namajunas names two UFC champions on her list of best grapplers
Rose Namajunas recently listed her top three UFC grapplers who are lethal from the back. Two of those three are reigning UFC champions Aljamain Sterling and Charles Oliveria. Another name featured on the list is grappling legend Demian Maia, who 'Thug' believes to be the best of them all.
According to Namajunas, Sterling's masterfulness makes it difficult to escape the 'Funk Master' once he has you where he wants. The UFC women's strawweight champion told Luke Thomas in an interview with Morning Kombat:
"I mean Aljamain Sterling, recently... he's so masterful with it. Like when he gets you there it's just really really hard to get out. I'll just say, obviously Demian Maia. He's probably the best out of everybody in the UFC. Charles Oliveira, really great as well, he has some of the coolest submissions in the UFC. So those are probably top three."
Watch Rose Namajunas list her top UFC grapplers below:
Lightweight champion Charles Oliveira currently tops the list of most submission wins in UFC history with 15. Oliveira is followed by Demian Maia in the second position with 11 submission wins.
While bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is yet to set such records, 'Funk Master' recently put on a dominant grappling display to earn a title win over Petr Yan at UFC 273.
Jessica Andrade wants a trilogy fight against Rose Namajunas
Jessica Andrade scored a spectacular first-round submission win over Amanda Lemos via a standing armbar last Saturday. Having made a successful return to strawweight, 'Bate Estaca' will now be looking to compete in a trilogy fight to settle her rivalry with Rose Namajunas.
Andrade dethroned Namajunas at UFC 237 in 2019, slamming her way to a second-round TKO win. 'Thug' would exact revenge with a split decision win in the rematch a year later, although the Brazilian had lost her title to Zhang Weili by then.
May11.2019
Jessica Andrade slams Rose Namajunas on her head,
to become the UFC Strawweight Champion https://t.co/Ht8aYmUhaS
'Bate Estaca' believes she would have won the rematch had it been a twenty-five minute affair. The Brazilian will be looking to get back in the title picture to finally settle her rivalry with Namajunas for good.
Andrade said in the lead-up to her recent bout against Lemos:
"That’s what I want, a five-round fight against Rose. Our first fight went my way, and then in the second fight, I believe I was turning the tide when it was ending. That was only three rounds. I’m not going to say I would have won, but it was going that way. I want to fight the best in the world, and the goal is to get back in title contention against Rose.” h/t SI.com
Reigning strawweight champion Rose Namajunas is preparing to defend her belt against the inaugural champion of the division, Carla Esparza at UFC 274. A matchup that ended with 'Cookie Monster' getting her hands raised back in 2014, will in all probabilty be one of the most important fights for the division.
Should Namajunas manage to avenge her loss against Esparza, Andrade will in all probablity get an opportunity to compete for the title once again.