"I'm just being myself" - Rose Namajunas says Zhang Weili can 'think what she wants' about the anti-communism comments
Rose Namajunas scored a vicious first-round KO win over Zhang Weili in the co-main event of UFC 261. The victory saw her capture the UFC women's strawweight title for the second time.
In the lead-up to the fight, Namajunas stirred up controversy with some anti-communist comments. Zhang later suggested that the remarks might have played a role in her title loss against 'Thug Rose'. However, the champ doesn't seem bothered about 'Magnum's impression of her.
While Zhang was showered with boos from the audience, Namajunas claims that her comments weren't a planned move to gain support from the fans. According to the strawweight champion, she was worried about getting boo'ed herself.
Rose Namajunas told Ariel Helwani on a recent episode of The MMA Hour:
"You know, she can think what she wants to think, you know. I don't fault her for that. A lot of what I do seems like it's so genius and so 'woo' and it's like I'm just being myself. You know what I mean. I am a genius at what I do but it's because I'm truly just being honest and being myself. So, yeah, I mean, think you go in there with a gameplan and you have a plan and stuff but it's a fight, you know. Like I don't sit around planning each and every step of the way. So whatever I said in my interview was what I said cause that's how I truly felt at that moment in time. And I was worried I was gonna get boo'ed because of all the terrible press and video that I got."
Watch Rose Namajunas' interview on The MMA Hour below:
Zhang Weili on Rose Namajunas' comments:
Rose Namajunas used her anti-communist sentiments as a source of motivation going into her bout against Zhang Weili. While 'Magnum' has never openly supported communism, Namajunas associated her with it as she hails from China.
Rose’s “better dead than red” comments #UFC261 (lrt.lt/naujienos/spor…) https://t.co/eKWzv9UUIE
Namajunas' comments have stuck with Zhang Weili following her title loss at UFC 261. During her own appearance on The MMA Hour, Zhang said:
"I think it definitely affected me a little bit. The comments that Rose made, I think she was successful in making the audience boo me. But I think that’s my own problem because I should be concentrating on the fight and not the audience. I can’t control who the audience likes. So I’m becoming more focused on my own fight.”
Watch Zhang Weili's interview with Ariel Helwani below:
Rose Namajunas is scheduled to defend her title against Zhang Weili in a highly-anticipated rematch at UFC 268.