Rose Namajunas (©UFC)
Rose “Thug” Namajunas, 28, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States was one of the “UFC 251” winners. The Lithuanian-American mixed martial artist earned her seventh victory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Featuring 13 MMA matches, “UFC 251” took place at the UFC Fight Island on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on July 11, 2020 (or July 12, 2020 in the UAE). In the 10th bout, Namajunas fought Jessica “Bate Estaca” Andrade, 28, of Umuarama, Parana, Brazil in the women’s strawweight division.
Daniel Movahedi served as the referee. After three five-minute rounds, the strawweight contest was left in the hands of the three judges.
Two judges scored it 29-28 in favor of Namajunas while one judge saw it 29-28 in favor of Andrade. In the end, Movahedi raised the hand of the Lithuanian-American contender, who was declared the winner via split decision.
It was a rematch between Namajunas and Andrade, who are both a former UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion. In their first encounter at “UFC 237” on May 11, 2019, the Brazilian fighter knocked out her Lithuanian-American opponent.
Winning at “UFC 251” improved Namajunas’s professional MMA record to 9 wins and 4 losses. It was the third time the Milwaukee native won a UFC bout via judges’ decision.
On the other hand, Andrade now has 20 wins and 8 losses. The Brazlian MMA fighter is now riding a two-bout losing streak.
Including Brazil and the U.S., 12 countries were represented at “UFC 251.” The others were Australia, Czech Republic, England, Finland, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Scotland and Switzerland.
Namajunas was one of the six fighters who represented the U.S. Andrade was one of the eight representatives of Brazil.
Born to Lithuanian parents in Milwaukee on June 29, 1992, Namajunas has been practicing taekwondo since she was 5 years old. She is a black belt in both taekwondo and karate and brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
As an MMA fighter, Namajunas has been competing professionally since 2013 and she made her UFC debut in 2015. The first opponents she defeated in the promotion were Angela Hill, Paige VanZant, Tecia Torres, Michelle Waterson and Joanna Jędrzejczyk.
Namajunas defeated Jędrzejczyk. The latter is also a former UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion.
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