Rose: I felt like a kid in there
Rose Namajunas: “I just gotta go back and really just ponder everything and try to evolve and learn from this and grow as a woman. I kind of felt like a kid in there.”
Rose Namajunas, 22, went into the UFC women’s strawweight championship as the favorite, and appeared to win the first round. However, Carla Esparza, 27, maintained her composure and came back like a pocket Cain Velasquez, with a relentless attack that ended it in the third.
At the post-fight press conference, Namajunas reflected on what went wrong.
“I was very excited to go in there and win it and take it all,” she said, as transcribed by Marc Raimondi for MMAFighting. “I just gotta go back and really just ponder everything and try to evolve and learn from this and grow as a woman. I kind of felt like a kid in there. I just gotta take that and grow from this just like my last loss.”
“This is just an investment in my future. I’m gonna tweak some things, I’m gonna work harder and I’m gonna be back.”
Namajunas was asked if being describe as the next Ronda Rousey added to the pressure.
“It always adds pressure,” she said. “It’s just a matter of when you get in there, is it gonna be too much or is it just enough? I found out tonight that I just gotta be patient and take my time with this. I got a lot of time.”
At 22, having turned pro only last year, Namajunas does indeed have many years to grow. It is going to be fun watching it.