Fighter Rose Namajunas is set to challenge her Chinese opponent Zhang Weili on April 25 and secure the title of UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion.
In an interview with LRT.lt, the 28-year-old Lithuanian-American fighter spoke about her focus on the upcoming fight and winning against her Chinese rival.
“I don’t hate Weili or anything like that,” explained Namajunas. “But I do feel as though I have a lot to fight for in this fight.”
Born to Lithuanian parents in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Namajunas said she drew motivation from Lithuania's history, namely, struggles under the communist Soviet regime.
“I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Weili is red, that’s what she represents,” said Namajunas. “It’s nothing personal against her, but that’s a huge motivating factor of why I fight.”
The fighter says she also wanted to educate her training partner Chico Camus and showed him the 2012 documentary The Other Dream Team. The film follows Lithuania's national basketball team and its journey to the bronze medal at the 1992 Olympic Games.
“And so just after watching that it was just a huge reminder of it’s better dead than red,” commented Namajunas.
‘Better dead than red’ was a popular Cold War slogan in the US which expressed hostility to communism.
“I fight for freedom and I’ve got the Christ consciousness, I’ve got Lithuanian blood and I’ve got the American dream, and all those things I’m taking into this fight,” said Namajunas.
She said her Chinese opponent was strong and skilled. However, Namajunas feels confident in her fighting strategy and chances of winning.
“Zhang Weili is quite skilled at fighting while standing, but […] once she realises punches aren’t doing much, she will try to knock me down,” says the fighter. “I think that I can win standing up […]. I’ve gotten much better with punches, better than ever.”
Rose Namajunas already won the title of UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion in 2017 upon defeating Joanna Jedrzejczyk from Poland, and again in 2019 when she won against Jessica Andrade.
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