Rose Namajunas is an Lithuanian-American MMA fighter who is currently competing in the Women’s Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
She is a purple belt in BJJ and is known for her submission game. 4 out of her 6 MMA wins have come by way of submission.
You would expect grapplers to favour submissions over knockouts. High level grappler Demian Maia, talked about why he prefers to grapple in a MMA fight:
“Jiu-jitsu is my origin, so I will always look for the submission and to control the fight. In this martial art we love so much, we look to tap our opponent out, not hurt him with strikes. Of course I’m there to win, but this mentality is completely intertwined with me. I will hardly try to hurt my adversary rather than submit him. That’s a part of jiu-jitsu and that’s why it’s the best martial art in the world. As an athlete, I must improve that.”
“I want to show jiu-jitsu to the world, and show to the people that you can win the fight without hurting your opponent.”
Rose Namajunas has different reasons.In this video for MMA Junkie, Rose says why prefers submission to KOs in MMA. For her, the submission is a safer option, as when choosing a stand up war, there are more chances of getting caught.
