Watch: Kamaru Usman and Rose Namajunas have a heartwarming backstage interaction after UFC 261 wins
UFC champions Kamaru Usman and Rose Namajunas had a heartwarming backstage interaction after their respective UFC 261 wins.
The two champions are teammates who train under the tutelage of world-renowned MMA and boxing coach Trevor Wittman in Denver, Colorado.
Fans can watch the interaction between Kamaru Usman and Rose Namajunas in the video embedded below –
(Video courtesy: UFC Book)
The video features Kamaru Usman entering the locker room backstage and heading towards Rose Namajunas. Usman and Namajunas congratulated each other as they hugged and shook hands.
In the video, both Usman and Namajunas can be heard asserting that they are indeed the best in the world. The talented welterweight and strawweight stars seemed ecstatic after their incredible wins at UFC 261.
Kamaru Usman and Rose Namajunas put on spectacular performances at UFC 261
Kamaru Usman entered the UFC 261 main event matchup as the reigning UFC welterweight champion and put his title on the line in a rematch against Jorge Masvidal. Usman and Masvidal have been engaged in a heated feud over the past few years and even faced one another inside the octagon last year.
Usman successfully defended his UFC welterweight title by defeating Masvidal via unanimous decision at UFC 251 (July 12th, 2020). However, Masvidal had stepped in on just six days’ notice to accept this fight, as Usman’s original opponent, Gilbert Burns, had withdrawn from the fight after contracting COVID-19.
This, in turn, led many in the MMA community to call for a rematch between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal. The rematch between the two rivals did come to fruition this year, as Usman faced Masvidal in the headlining fight of UFC 261 (April 24th, 2021).
The fight witnessed Kamaru Usman send shockwaves across the combat sports world as he became the first fighter to knock out Jorge Masvidal in the latter’s storied UFC career. Usman defeated Masvidal via second-round KO and capped off an incredible UFC 261, successfully defending his UFC welterweight title.
Furthermore, this fight was preceded by the UFC 261 co-main event matchup – a UFC women’s strawweight title fight between the champion Zhang Weili and former champion Rose Namajunas. This fight saw Namajunas defeat Zhang via first-round KO, thereby becoming the first fighter to defeat Zhang in the UFC.
Thug Rose etched her name in the history books as the first UFC women’s champion to regain her title after having lost it. Namajunas won the UFC women’s strawweight title in 2017, lost it in 2019, and regained it in 2021.
Presently, Kamaru Usman is believed to be defending his title in a rematch against archrival Colby Covington next. Meanwhile, Rose Namajunas’ next opponent is yet to be determined.