Rose Namajunas is ready to go head-to-head with Natalia Silva.
Former two-time strawweight champion Namajunas (14-7 MMA, 12-6 UFC) will face rising flyweight star Silva (19-5-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) at UFC 324 on January 24 at T-Mobile Arena (Paramount+) in Las Vegas.
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Namajunas’ striking has earned her two UFC strawweight championships – a TKO of Joanna Jedrzejczyk in 2017 and then a head kick knockout of Zhang Weili in 2021. In her match against Silva, a purple belt in kickboxing, Namajunas returned to what brought her to the dance floor. She sought help from an Olympic bronze medalist in taekwondo.
“We have three weeks left in training camp, so I’m super excited,” Namajunas said on her YouTube channel. “We have a girl coming to town in Christina Teach. She’s a bronze medalist in kickboxing, an Olympic kickboxer, so I’m super excited because obviously I’m fighting Natalia Silva, so she has a kickboxing foundation and stuff like that, and she’s adapted well to MMA. But even myself, that’s my foundation. I just don’t use it as much as she does.
“I rely a lot on my boxing, but I want to get back to my roots. So we’re just bringing her in to help me be a little sharper with my kicks, my reactions, my timing, things like that. I’m not trying to have her imitate Natalya in any way, but I’m just a real martial artist. I feel like if you have the right imagination, everything helps and everything can be applied. I’m really excited about that.”
Namajunas finds himself at a disadvantage against Brazilian Silva, who remains undefeated in the UFC. Silva currently has 13 consecutive victories.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Rose Namajunas returns to kickboxing roots for UFC 324