Highly-touted prospect “Thug” Rose Namajunas notched the first victory for Team Melendez during tonight’s seventh episode of The Ultimate Fighter 20: “A Champion Will Be Crowned.” Namajunas put her team on the board by submitting Team Pettis’s Alex “Astro Girl” Chambers late in round one.
Both fighters felt pressure leading up to tonight’s elimination round bout, as Chambers was tasked with keeping Team Pettis’s perfect record intact and Namajunas looked to end Team Melendez’s disappointing losing streak. In the end, Namajunas dominated the fight and was very emotional in victory.
Namajunas (2-1-0 pro, ranked #7) took the fight to Chambers (4-1-0 pro, ranked #10) right away and she backed Chambers up with a side kick and punches. Namajunas shot in for a takedown, but Chambers stayed on her feet. Namajunas landed a quick flurry and avoided a spinning back kick. She backed Chambers up again with a punch-kick combo to the body and tripped her to the mat.
Chambers fought back to her feet, but she was immediately suplexed to the ground again. She battled back up once more and Namajunas greeted her with punches and a side kick. Chambers attempted a takedown, but Namajunas defended and took her back in the process. She locked on a rear-naked choke and Chambers was forced to submit at the 4:38 mark of round one.
Following her impressive submission victory, Namajunas broke down and talked about how hard she had worked to get to this point in her career. A dejected Chambers was also emotional, but received words of encouragement from her teammates and coaches.
Next week’s episode features the final elimination round bout. Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres (ranked #3), who was defeated by Randa Markos in Episode 1, returns to the competition and faces former Team Melendez ally “Rowdy” Bec Rawlings (ranked #8). The winner moves on to face top seed Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza in the quarterfinal round.
The Ultimate Fighter 20: “A Champion Will Be Crowned” airs every Wednesday night on FOX Sports 1 and Sportsnet 360. The winner of the gruelling competition will become the inaugural UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion.
(Photo Credit: Esther Lin, AllElbows.com / InvictaFC.com)
good recap, no sloppy drama just pbp.
Is she the DW hinted the RR of 115?
She should be. She’s awesome. Looking so frail, but so b@d @$$. And, IMO, she is still undefeated, as she won her fight against Tecia Torres.
That was an intriguing comment by DW back before the season started, that we would see a 115lb RR arise from the season. It really depends on what he meant by another RR — personality, determination, physical talent? Some combo? I know Joanne Calderwood’s first fight on TUF was not an overwhelming victory, but I still think that, physically at least, she has the best potential to dominate the remainder of the show. But then I think Rowdy Bec has enormous potential, and is very much a sleeper. Could DW have meant “Rowdy” Bec could be another Rowdy Ronda Rousey?
One thing for sure is — Ronday Rousey is a huge fan of Rose – she talks about how much she likes her fighting style and attitude. Maybe Rose is the next Rousey after all 🙂
Rose will be champion…soon. She is just too well rounded and so talented and experienced for her age. This next fight between her and JoJo will show us the real truth behind Rose.
I like Tecia but I believe that her size is a major limitation. She is like a female Manny Gamburyan. I hope Bec takes it next week.
Man…all these girls have some tough personal history, huh????
Yeah, I like Tecia too, but also hope Bec takes it next week. Then we’d have a rematch of Esparza and Bec Hyatt/Rawlings (I guess she got married since then?). Rowdy Bec was a late replacement, but still gave Carla fits and was starting to dominate by round 5. I think Bec takes Torres and Esparza, but comes up short against Penne. I do think Jojo will prove a bit too big and strong for Rose. Then I pick Randa to advance in the Quarters, but also fall short against Jo-jo. I think we’ll have a Calderwood – Penne finale on December 8th. But I’ll probably be wrong on every pick I just made… Story of my life 🙂
Good stuff andy.
I think aisling will beat penne. Jess has bee making lots of comments about the weight class change being a major factor. Ais has fought and beat Jessica eye at 125. Size will matter, I think.
Rose and Jojo….hard to pick…again Jojo is a large 115er.
It is really hard to pick the finalists now!#!
Rose and Carla for the belt…