Former UFC Champion reveals startling reasons behind turning down title fight against Zhang Weili

Rose Namajunas had the opportunity to fight for the Strawweight title right in her hands. But unfortunately, she had to let it go owing to the circumstances.

Speaking on the UFC Unfiltered podcast, the former 115-pound Champion shared why she had to turn down the offer when she was asked by UFC to take it up with the reigning titleholder, Zhang Weili.

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Namajunas was not ready for the Weili fight

In her last outing, Namajunas lost the Strawweight belt to Jessica Andrade in a brutal head-slam knockout loss in May last year. But despite that outcome, she had a shot at the title in the promotion's opinion when Weili was putting her belt at stake, just like Yoel Romero and Jose Aldo.

But due to personal reasons, she could not take it up as it was.

"I think everyone else felt the same way, too. I was even offered Weili at the time, but I just – at the time I was still dealing with a lot of my own (things), just getting my head right, and I hired a mental coach that’s helping me do a lot of different things. And so there was a lot of work that needed to be done."

Namajunas wanted to be in the right head space before she took up another fight, and did not want to do it simply because it was her job.

"I wasn’t ready for that just yet. I didn’t even really know if I wanted to fight at that time anymore, just because I wanted to make sure that this is something that I wanted to do and I wasn’t just like, ‘Let’s have another fight just because I’m good at it.'"

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Namajunas reflects on the loss to Andrade

Recovering from the loss to Andrade was probably one of the hardest tasks of her career, both physically and emotionally. It was especially difficult because she was aware of the errors she made, but it was too late to do anything about it.

"It was definitely one of my harder losses that I’ve dealt with. I think the thing is, I knew exactly – it was easier in the sense that I knew exactly all of the things that I did wrong. The harder part is taking responsibility for myself, and yeah, maybe situations around me that I couldn’t control could have been better."

Given the nature of the knockout, the loss could have potentially done more damage to herself and her career than it actually did. But she got lucky and Namajunas is thankful for that. She landed dangerously on her neck after the head slam from Andrade, and she believes it is nothing but a miracle that the fall did not leave a more permanent damage.

"I got dropped on my head – I could have been paralyzed. It’s like, ‘Well, I wasn’t paralyzed, so why should I be paralyzed in fear if it didn’t happen?'” Namajunas said. “I should celebrate the fact that I’m walking around and it’s a miracle that my neck feels better than it’s ever felt in the past few years. Prior to that happening, I had a fracture in my neck, so it was hurting a lot – and after that, I feel great."

However, she is finally ready to be back to the Octagon and will partake in a rematch with Andrade at UFC 249 in Brooklyn on April 18. Weili on the other hand will be challenged by Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248 in Las Vegas coming Saturday.

H/t to MMA Junkie for the quotes.