"If the money was there... that'd be cool" - Rose Namajunas hints at a future move to boxing
Rose Namajunas has suggested that she’d be open to competing in the sport of boxing, provided the money is right.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour, host Ariel Helwani alluded to the recent trend of several top-tier MMA fighters trying their hand at the sport of boxing. When asked whether she’d consider doing the same, the reigning UFC strawweight champion responded by saying:
“You know, I love boxing – I definitely [would box] if the money was there, you know, that would be cool. That’d be cool. We could try it out. But I love MMA, though. I really am so in love with grappling, with wrestling, the clinch, and kicking, and all of it, mixing it up together. So, I feel like if I were to do boxing, that would have to be like, probably a money move I would say, you know? But I love MMA.”
Namajunas added, “Man, that Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder fight was like off the charts, was amazing, and super exciting. But I can’t say that like, other than that fight and maybe some other boxing fights, I truly get way more excited off of just any person fighting in MMA than watching boxing, you know what I mean? And so, doing it is maybe a different story, but I’m definitely so much more in love with MMA.”
Watch Rose Namajunas’ interview with Ariel Helwani below:
Rose Namajunas appears to be on a collision course with an old foe in 2022
Presently, Rose Namajunas is set to defend her strawweight title against former champion Zhang Weili at UFC 268 on November 6. Namajunas beat Zhang via first-round KO at UFC 261 in April this year.
It’s entirely possible that Zhang Weili could beat Rose Namajunas and reclaim her title. Alternatively, it’s also likely that Namajunas could win their rematch this November and end up facing another familiar foe in 2022.
This foe is the only fighter to ever secure a submission win over Rose Namajunas in her professional MMA career – former UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza.
She’d bested Namajunas via third-round submission to win the inaugural 115-pound title back in 2014. Fast-forward to the present day, and ‘Thug’ Rose has the opportunity to even the score with Esparza, provided that Namajunas gets past Zhang in their rematch at UFC 268.