Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Strawweight title challenger, Rose Namajunas, is set to battle with rising star, Paige VanZant, this Thursday (Dec. 10, 2015) at UFC Fight Night 80 inside "The Cosmopolitan" in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Namajunas' initial claim to fame -- besides obvious talent -- came in her second professional fight. Wasting little time, Namajunas leaped at her opponent's arm, securing a flying armbar submission in just 12 seconds.
Next, Namajunas continued to find success on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 20, running through three more opponents via submission. Those victories earned her a shot at the belt, but Namajunas came up short in her initial title bid thanks to the relentless attack of Carla Esparza in Dec. 2014. Since then, she's returned to the win column and is now looking to build a new win streak.
Let's take a deeper look at the top Strawweight's skill set:
Striking
Namajunas is a black belt in both Karate and Taekwondo, and that background definitely shows itself in her kickboxing. She's an aggressive striker with some flashy strikes, which helped her win a pair of her amateur fights via knockout.
Though she showed some growth in her boxing in her last bout with Angela Hill, Namajunas usually operates as a distance kickboxer. At that range, she fires off a high volume and variety of kicks. For example, Namajunas has found success with standard roundhouse kicks, ax kicks, jumping switch kicks, and several spinning attacks.
One of the stronger kicks in Namajunas' arsenal is the rear-leg side kick. It requires a large amount of distance, as well as solid speed and timing, but Namajunas makes it work fairly often.
Besides her kicks, Namajunas also likes to bounce in with quick combinations of punches. For the most part, Namajunas likes to throw combinations from the Orthodox stance, punctuated by her left hook and cross. During these bursts, she'll occasionally target the body as well.
Since she's generally coming in on a straight line with these flurries, it's important for Namajunas to disguise her charges with feints. Otherwise, she would be easy to counter. She does feint fairly well while fresh, but that aspect of her striking game began to disappear as she fatigued opposite Esparza.
Then, she became far more hittable.
As mentioned, it was pretty obvious that Namajunas has been working on her boxing from her last performance. Against a skilled kickboxer, Namajunas threw fewer flashy kicks and instead relied on boxing fundamentals. In the couple short minutes that fight stayed on the feet, Namajunas was more controlled with her combinations and showed off a sharp jab.
Previously, the jab was not a big part of her arsenal, but it's a smart addition. Namajunas is a lanky Strawweight who already likes to fight from distance, so the jab should be a major part of her striking attack.
Wrestling
"Thug Rose" is not the most polished wrestler, but she's a physically gifted athlete with a few tricks up her sleeve. Usually, that's enough to get her opponents to the mat.
For the most part, Namajunas looks to land takedowns in the clinch. Again, she's a physical talent, which often allows her to simply muscle her opponent down from the clinch. Her height helps with this as well, giving her some extra leverage.
In addition, Namajunas commonly looks for the hip toss once she has a tight overhook. This is another technique that fits Namajunas' body type, and she commonly uses it to reverse her opponents' attempts to land trips or throws from the clinch.
Against Hill, Namajunas showed a newer wrinkle to her takedown game. Timing her shot very well, Namajunas hooked her opponent's leg as she level changed and drove forward. This type of takedown can be difficult to deal with, as it cannot really be sprawled on. It's a risky also, as Namajunas is in poor position if the shot fails, but her comfort on her back helps take care of that possibility.
Speaking of, Namajunas' takedown defense is definitely an area that could use some work. Against opponents that are not wrestlers or cannot match her athleticism, Namajunas generally doesn't have a problem, but Esparza really exposed that hole in her game.
Esparza repeatedly ran through a successful double leg in their title fight. It didn't help that Namajunas was caught off-balance by a number of those shots, but she didn't really defend well either. She never made a solid attempt to sprawl out, instead landing on her back over and over.
On the bright side, Namajunas is very skilled at scrambling back to her feet. She has an active guard, which makes opponents uncomfortable in diving in. Since they already give her a bit of space, Namajunas can usually kick away at her opponent and work back up quickly.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Despite her striking background, the most dangerous aspect of Namajunas' game is undoubtedly her submission ability. She finished each of her three opponents on TUF via tapout, and "Thug Rose" has proven to be quite the opportunist.
Namajunas is very active from her back. She does a nice job climbing her legs up and angling off from the bottom, which are a pair of important details for locking in submissions from the bottom.
After getting her legs high and finding an angle, Namajunas is quick to attack with either the triangle choke or arm bar. These two moves pair together wonderfully and can be transitioned between with ease.
For example, she trapped Emily Kagan in a triangle in her professional debut. She got a strong angle but still wasn't able to finish the triangle, so Namajunas attacked with an armbar on the trapped arm, attempted a straight armbar on the outside arm as Kagan defended, eventually looked for an omoplata, and landed elbows throughout. If not for Kagan's extreme flexibility, Namajunas would've finished that fight in the first round.
In addition, Namajunas uses her kimura very well from both the top and bottom. She's quite aggressive in looking for the grip, as she's willing to give up position to lock in the hold. After she secures the shoulder lock, Namajunas will extend her opponent out with her legs and sweep if necessary. Once on top, Namajunas will step over the head from side control and crank on the arm. Often, the kimura is Namajunas' first reaction to getting taken down.
Another one of her top game submissions is the rear naked choke. Like the rest of her game, Namajunas is quite aggressive with this submission, chasing it before securing her hooks. This worked quite well in her last fight, as Namajunas leaped onto Hill's back with her arm already under the neck (GIF).
Lastly, Namajunas' flying arm bar must be covered.
While exchanging strikes in the double-collar tie, Namajunas took advantage of her opponent's arm position. On the mat, it's very risky to reach out and grab the head, as it opens up submissions. That's why most fighters and grapplers attempt to keep their elbows tucked in tight while grappling.
However, submissions are the farthest thing from a fighter's mind while looking to land a standing knee strike. After grabbing the arm wrapped around her own head -- the arm that will eventually be attacked -- Namajunas jumped across her opponent's body, securing that all-important angle. From there, she threw her legs up and hung on, landing in a standard armbar position on a confused opponent (GIF).
Conclusion
Namajunas and Paige VanZant are two of the division's youngest and brightest prospects. They're both accustomed to having a large edge in athleticism, and this time that part of their game will likely cancel out, which will show a lot about the skill set of both fighters. For "Thug Rose," this is a test of her growth as well, as she struggled the last time she was pressured by a fighter with excellent conditioning.
Will Rose Namajunas pick up another quick finish, or will Paige VanZant continue to climb the ladder at record speeds?
*****
Andrew Richardson, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt, is an undefeated amateur fighter who trains at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California. In addition to learning alongside world-class talent, Andrew has scouted opponents and developed winning strategies for several of the sport's most elite fighters.