5 UFC fighters who could dethrone Rose Namajunas

#2. Marina Rodriguez – More experienced striker than Rose Namajunas

Under the guidance of legendary striking coach Trevor Wittman, Rose Namajunas' striking has advanced leaps and bounds since she broke onto the scene on The Ultimate Fighter.

The reigning strawweight champion has been sharpening her striking skills for just over five years. UFC strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez, on the other hand, has been training in Muay Thai for over a decade.

Rodriguez amassed an undefeated professional MMA record of 9-0 from 2015 to 2017. Following this, in April 2018, the Brazilian participated in Dana White’s Contender Series: Brazil 2 and secured a first-round TKO win over Maria de Oliveira Neta. This earned her a UFC contract.

Since joining the UFC, Rodriguez has secured unanimous decision victories over seasoned UFC fighters like Tecia Torres, Michelle Waterson and Mackenzie Dern.

In 2020, she suffered the first loss of her MMA career, losing to Carla Esparza via split-decision at UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till. Esparza, a former UFC women’s strawweight champion, was taken to the brink by the Brazilian, with many in the MMA community claiming the judges’ decision could’ve gone either way due to how closely contested the bout was.

Nevertheless, Rodriguez has never been finished in her professional career. She has shown that she has an incredibly high fight IQ and has the ability to outpoint any fighter on her night. In her most recent fight against Mackenzie Dern, she showed that she can maintain a steady pace over five rounds as well.

Undoubtedly, she will prove to be a tricky puzzle for Namajunas to solve when the duo eventually lock horns.

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#1. Carla Esparza – Has already beaten Rose Namajunas once

Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas were contestants on The Ultimate Fighter 20. They were clearly the best fighters on the reality show and made it all the way to the final. The victor was to be crowned the UFC's inaugural strawweight champion. Esparza came out on top and became the first-ever champion of the UFC's 115 lbs division.

Esparza subsequently lost the title to Joanna Jędrzejczyk, who went on to rule the division for two years before being dethroned by Rose Namajunas. The belt changed hands a few more times thereafter before finding its way back to Namajunas.

Esparza remains an ominous presence in the weight class. ‘Cookie Monster’ is undeniably the best wrestler in the bracket, a strong asset in a division seemingly brimming with strikers. She is currently riding a five-fight winning streak and is ranked No.2 in the strawweight division.

A rematch against Esparza is the obvious next step for Namajunas. The strawweight pair started the division together and the stage is set for them to run it back.

Watch highlights from their first fight below: