Rose Namajunas has had a very interesting year. The brown belt in jiu jitsu managed to defeat Joanna Jędrzejczyk. And her unique approach to MMA zeitgeist where everyone trash talks truly sets her apart. This lead to ESPN naming her the MMA fighter of the year.
“There’s way more belief and faith in [that prayer now],” Namajunas explained. “There have been moments in my life that chaos surrounded me and I kind of fell victim to it. You can become attached to chaos. I was using that negativity as energy, rather than now putting those negative situations behind me and turning my experiences into a positive. I want to inspire people that you don’t have to fight with hate. You can fight with passion and desire to make this world a better place.”
Jedrzejczyk is a candidate to rematch Namajunas in her first title defense.
The greatest thing you can do for yourself is to focus on your mental fortitude. Everybody has that voice inside their head telling them to quit and slow down, but if you can fight that off longer than your opponent, that’s when you win the fight. I have a lot of resilience when it comes to being in tough situations and under pressure, but also when it comes to just beating myself up, I do it more than other people do. I strive for perfection all the time and nothing is ever good enough. I’m never satisfied with myself. But I’ve been working on being nicer to myself, and [utilizing] positive affirmations. I control my breathing, meditate, journal, and go running. For relaxation, I take night walks outside, hang out with my animals, and do things with my garden. My backyard is the most beautiful thing ever. I can sit outside staring at the trees and the open space as long as I want, thinking about all the hard work that I’ve put in to get me here.
– Namajunas explained in a prior interview.
