Namajunas refocused after the loss and vowed that she would make the upcoming year belong to her. Still, VanZant wouldn’t go away, so it went into the fifth. She consistently out-wrestled her in the clinch and dominated virtually every exchange on the feet.
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Now that “UFC Fight Night 80: VanZant vs. Namajunas” is in the books, stream the post-fight pres conference live right here on 5thRound.com starting at approximately 12:30AM ET/9:30PM PT.
“I told her tonight, ‘You’ll learn more from this loss than you will from all your wins in the past, ‘” White said.
According to immediate cageside statistics by Fightmetric, Namajunas out-landed VanZant in total strikes 104 to 53.
In an incredibly one-sided battle, Namajunas managed 16 minutes and 33 seconds of control, while her younger competitor in VanZant was only able to impose 33 seconds of dominance, largely thanks to a few quick strikes at the start of each round. Namajunas was credited with eight total takedowns, while VanZant scored none. She almost finished the fight late in the round when she leapt onto VanZant’s back and locked on a rear naked choke.
In the third, it appeared VanZant would finally gain some momentum.
While she was outclassed, VanZant showed remarkable toughness in a bout that left the fighters embracing afterward. VanZant escaped several solid submission attempts and had blood pouring out of the right side of her face. Fighter Tim Means described it best by saying the event was “the fuse to the dynamite”. It is the fourth submission win of her career.
Rather, by making some technical adjustments on her previous work in the fight to get a finish highlighted what a smart fighter she is.
You can see full results of UFC Fight Night 80 below.
Having previously failed with a rear naked choke “Thug” Rose adjusted her grip the second time and coaxed a tap out of Paige midway through the final round. But she also conceded that, as everyone saw, she wasn’t quite ready for this step up in competition, either.
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After fighting for a UFC title in her very first bout as a finalist on the 20th season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, Rose Namajunas was pegged as a fighter to watch in the newly formed strawweight division.
