‘Thug Rose’ out to avoid hat-trick of defeats

Rose Namajunas will be looking to avoid a hat-trick of defeats for the first time in her MMA career when she faces Amanda Ribas in the women’s flyweight main event of a UFC Fight Night set for the APEX Facility in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday, 24 March 2024.

Namajunas (11-6) has suffered back-to-back losses in her last two trips to the Octagon, going down via split decision to Carla Esparza to lose the strawweight championship in May 2022, before a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Manon Fiorot in her flyweight debut in September last year.

‘Thug Rose’, a former two-time strawweight champion, has emphasised that she wants the flyweight belt, but knows that she has to earn a shot at it.

“Originally, when I was making a bunch of goals when I was younger, 'two-division champ' was down on the list... but it was on there," Namajunas said. "I think I'm known for surprising people, so it's kind of my style.”

Ribas (13-4) has also moved between the flyweight and strawweight divisions and will be looking to build on a win in her last match: a third-round TKO triumph over Luana Pinheiro in November last year.

The 30-year-old Brazilian has struggled for consistency, alternating between wins and losses in her last six fights, but is nonetheless delighted to be taking part in her first ‘main event’ match in the UFC.

“This is awesome, awesome, awesome... whenever I sign a poster [for a fan] I always imagine my face there,” said Ribas. “This fight is really important because I am [ranked] No. 8 in the flyweight division and Rose, she is No. 8 in pound-for-pound, so I think if I win I can go to the top in the flyweight division.”

The rest of the main card is headlined by a bantamweight bout in which South Africa’s Cameron Saaiman faces up to Payton Talbott. Also on the card are featherweight clashes pitting Billy Quarantillo against Youssef Zalal, and Fernando Padilla against Luis Pajuelo; a heavyweight co-main in which Karl Williams battles Justin Tafa; and a middleweight match between Edmen Shahbazyan and AJ Dobson.

UFC Fight Night: Ribas v Namajunas – main card

- Main event: Women’s flyweight: Amanda Ribas v Rose Namajunas

- Heavyweight: Karl Williams v Justin Tafa

- Middleweight: Edmen Shahbazyan v AJ Dobson

- Bantamweight: Payton Talbott v Cameron Saaiman

- Featherweight: Billy Quarantillo v Youssef Zalal

- Featherweight: Fernando Padilla v Luis Pajuelo