Rose Namajunas Admits She Seriously Considered Retirement After 2022 Loss To Carla Esparza

During a recent interview on The MMA Hour, Namajunas discussed the aftermath of her last fight at UFC 274.

"I definitely thought I was done, for a good amount of time," Namajunas said. "There's definitely a number of things, but the way I felt going into the lockerroom, I just didn't feel aggressive and I felt like 'I don't really want to hurt anybody'. I just thought I was done. There were a bunch of other factors that went into it, but it's obviously not the first time that I questioned whether I should keep doing this or not. I already achieved becoming a champion, defending a champion belt, losing it, and hen even at that point when I lost it and was on my way to when I decided to rematch Andrade, and I wanted her because I wanted to fix that mistake, I never thought I was gonna make it to the belt again. That was the last thing on my mind...

"After Carla...there was more than the feeling of not wanting to partake in violence. It was a spiritual thing and I just kind of questioned whether or not God wanted me to keep going, maybe this isn't part of a godly life. I came back around and thought 'No, this is what God is telling me to do.'...some people are warriors, and some people are creatures. I've been gifted with the warrior spirit and something special. I don't have a ton of time left, but I know I'm not finished yet in this chapter."

Namajunas has gone on the record when discussing her past struggles with mental health and other issues. These issues have impacted her fighting career and could've potentially played a factor in her last performance against Esparza.

Before falling to Esparza, Namajunas defended the strawweight title by defeating Zhang Weili at UFC 268. She began her second title reign by knocking out Weili with a head kick at UFC 261.

Namajunas will look to get back on track in her fighting career beginning with her upcoming matchup with Fiorot.

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