"It's a tough fight, but it's the type of fight that she needs" - UFC women's flyweight Casey O'Neill explains why Rose Namajunas should be next for Yan Xiaonan
Sometime next week, Yan Xiaonan will likely find herself quite close to Rose Namajunas in the rankings. That's enough to open up a potential Rose Namajunas matchup, claims fellow UFC athlete Casey O'Neill.
The China-native got back in the win column when she gutted out a majority decision victory against Mackenzie Dern on October 1. Despite having some trouble with her opponent's elite grappling and jiu-jitsu, the 115lber got the nod from the judges and can now look towards making a title push.
While discussing what's next for Yan Xiaonan, Casey O'Neill entertained the idea of the powerful strawweight testing herself against former two-time UFC champion, Rose Namajunas:
"I would love to see Yan vs. Rose, but I think that that's a really tough fight for Yan. Stylistically, someone who likes to strike and someone who's so elusive and good with her footwork. Rose's just well-rounded... but it's the type of fight that she [Xiaonan] needs before she goes in and fights for the title."
With her win at the weekend, Xiaonan managed to cut her run of back-to-back losses. She now aims to push towards another impressive string of victories inside the octagon.
'Fury' has already collided with the UFC strawweight champion during her career with the promotion. Carla Esparza dominated her to a TKO victory.
Check out what Casey O'Neill had to say about Rose Namajunas and the 115lbs picture in the video below:
What's next for Rose Namajunas?
Rose Namajunas lost her 3-fight win-streak and her title when Carla Esparza was given the nod on the judges scorecards at UFC 274. Now that Namajunas will look to recapture the throne that was once hers, who can we see the popular fighter face next?
Currently sitting behind the champion as the No.1 strawweight in the UFC, Namajunas most probably needs just one more win before inserting herself back into title contention.
With a number of fighters scheduled to fight or having just fought, 'Thug' Rose' finds herself without many options for her return to the octagon. One alternative is the aforementioned Yan Xiaonan, whose jump in the rankings would make her a worthy foe for the Wisconsin-born star.
A lesser spoken about choice for the 30-year-old is a long-awaited trilogy against the wrecking machine Jessica Andrade.
No matter who she collides with next, she should be given a shot to reclaim her title if she wins her comeback fight against a top 5 strawweight.