There will be some personal history at play when Rose Namajunas enters the cage with Maycee Barber for the UFC on ESPN 59 main event.
Namajunas (12-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) will take on Barber (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in a five-round women’s flyweight bout on July 13 at Ball Arena in Denver (ESPN, ESPN+). It’s a matchup that will have significant stakes on the title picture going forward, and there’s a backstory between the two sides during their time training within similar circles in Colorado.
“I don’t know exactly how old she was when we met – she was probably around 18 or something like that, maybe 17,” Namajunas told MMA Junkie. “I know we did some jiu-jitsu one time. I think we grappled a bit. I remember it was a situational thing – as far as I remember. This was a really long time ago. There was a few times where we were supposed to spar and she was at the gym, but something had come up during that. I was ready to go, but something with her was going on. … We didn’t train extensively together a bunch. She was always just kind of in the area.”
Although Namajunas’ memory of her specific training sessions with Barber are admittedly fuzzy, there are other moments of their past that are much more clear.
There was a time when Namajunas and Barber both fought at strawweight. Namajunas was at the top of the heap as a two-time divisional champion, while Barber was extremely early in the game as one of the youngest fighter on the UFC roster. Weight issues forced Barber up to 125 pounds where she’s put together a six-fight winning streak, and eventually Namajunas made the move up as well to put a new coat of paint on her career.
Barber, No. 9 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie women’s flyweight rankings, has seemingly always had an eye on a matchup with No. 13-ranked Namajunas, but it never quite made sense until now.
“What I do remember very vividly is her fighting a couple of my training partners and her beating those training partners and really just trying to throw that in my face as if she’s beating me or something, and then she would call me out or something and saying she’s knocking off my training partners and I’m next,” Namajunas said. “That’s what I remember specifically. Ever since she got to the UFC, she didn’t really say those things as much. She was (talking) more pre-UFC. Then when she moved up to flyweight, we were obviously in different different divisions. It’s just funny because before, it was she was coming for me. But now I’m coming for her because I’m moving up and I’m coming for her ranking. The tables have turned.”
Barber has never been short on confidence when it comes to her fighting ability and speaking out on her career goals. Namajunas takes zero umbrage with that approach, but that’s not the case when it comes from other people around her next opponent.
Namajunas said the only negative feelings going into UFC on ESPN 59 are not toward Barber herself, but rather her father and coach, Bucky Barber.
“I honestly like that she is confident in herself,” Namajunas said. “As long as it’s in a confident, true, genuine manner, I love when fighters are confident. I like when they believe in themselves. As long as she ain’t being disrespectful I’m cool with it. I don’t know about like, her dad was kind of disrespectful I kind of felt like back in the day. But that was him. Whatever. But her, I think she should keep doing what she’s doing and I respect everything that she’s done. She’s really developed into an impressive prospect that I’m looking forward to facing.”
Namajunas said the “disrespectful” moment with Bucky came after one of her fights, where the coach inserted himself into a place Namajunas felt he didn’t belong.
“He was just yelling in my face saying that, ‘We’re coming for you,'” Namajunas recalled. “It’s like, ‘Hey, chill out man.’ I don’t have a dad in my life so I’m going to have to get some other people. Because if we’re going to gang up on me then I’ve got to get a gang up, too.
“(It was) after a fight. I’m sure emotions were high but I personally was like, ‘That was uncalled for on his part.’ To me it’s like, if my corner starts attacking my opponent, then the opponent’s corner has the right. We’re all fighting now. To me that’s the etiquette. It should be just between the fighter and the fighter. I know that if you’re a parent you might have a little more emotion involved, but you’ve got to control yourself. That’s not cool.”
Despite some sour feelings about the past, Namajunas doesn’t intend to let anything affect how she performs on fight night. The former UFC champ is focused on the task at hand, and knows Barber is not going to be an easy matchup.
Namajunas, 31, said she’ll need to use all her weapons to end the streak of Barber, 26, but has no doubt she’s capable.
“She kind of relies on her intimidation factor and things like that,” Namajunas said. “I’ve stood in front of the most intimidating people, so I’m fully equipped and prepared for her – not just experience, but also I’m training my butt off and I’m trying to just be ready for anything. I know she wants to try to make it messy at times, but she does seem like she’s being a little more technical over the years and cleaning up her striking a little bit. But it’s my job to keep it my style and keep it my game and make sure I do my thing.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.
