Rose Namajunas doubts strawweight return, eyes UFC women's flyweight title in 2024

LAS VEGAS – It looks like Rose Namajunas is sticking around the UFC women’s flyweight division.

Despite her success as a two-time champion at 115 pounds, and a loss in her debut at 125, Namajunas (11-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC) doesn’t see herself going back down and has set her sights on winning the title at flyweight in 2024.

“Becoming a two-division champion this year would be awesome,” Namajunas said at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 53 media day. “I know that’s a very steep mountain to climb, and I know I’ve had some setbacks and I have to be realistic, but I do believe that’s very realistic. God willing, that’s going to happen. I just have to take care of business this weekend, and that’s what we’ll do.”

Namajunas returns to the octagon Saturday against Amanda Ribas (12-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN 53 main event. She’s looking to rebound from a loss to top contender Manon Fiorot in her flyweight debut this past September in Paris.

Although things didn’t go her way, Namajunas insists 125 is a much better home for her career.

“I just think health wise, it’s not a healthy thing for me to (drop to 115 pounds) at this point,” Namajunas said. “I know that I can keep pushing through it. I know my mind got a lot stronger with cutting the weight. But I can tell my body was not liking it as much.

“I could tell from my last strawweight cut: My eyes were sunken in, and it’s kind of hard to see myself like that. … I’m all about health and wellness. I’m all about preserving health as much as possible.”

Check out Namajunas’ full media day interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 53.