SUMMARY
- Rose Namajunas cut off her long hair and sported a buzz-cut before her fight in 2015.
- She talked about about the pressure women put on themselves to look a certain way but she just wanted to focus on fighting.
UFC fighter Rose Namajunas is well-known in the combat sports world for her iconic buzz cut. The cut was the talk of the town when she had it in 2015. She had long blonde hair before she chopped it up on the road to her UFC Fight Night main event against Paige VanZant.
After beginning her pro-MMA career in January 2013, Rose Namajunas was fighting for the inaugural UFC Strawweight Championship in December 2014 against Carla Esparza. She lost the bout via submission in the third round. Thug Rose faced Angela Hill at UFC 192 next and defeated her with the same submission in the first round.
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However, before her next bout on December 10, 2015, against VanZant, she shocked the world by chopping her long blonde hair. She posted the buzz cut on Instagram and wrote, “It’s a fight not a beauty pageant… Sh*t’s in my way at practice… Cut it off!”
Leading up to her Fight Night, this was all the media could talk about. She was asked several questions about her cut and she had a similar answer each time. Moreover, VanZant was caught in the crossfire for her looks and Namajunas had to clear the air about it.
Rose Namajunas cut off her hair to focus on the fighting
Each time Namajunas was asked about her haircut, she explained that it was for fighting reasons. According to TalkSPORT, in one of the interviews leading up to Fight Night, she said, “Why not do it to keep the focus on the fight so I don’t have to worry about training, then rinsing off and washing my hair, then drying it off, making it all pretty, doing my makeup, then getting ready for interviews and pictures and then having to go back to training and putting it back up.
“I just want to focus on the fight and figuratively and literally cut out as much as I can.”
Further, Rose Namajunas opened up about the society and expectations surrounding women. She claimed that women put pressure on themselves to look a certain way and it is unnecessary.
In another interview, she claimed she never liked doing her hair. She even said that she did not know how to do her hair. She would just apply a “whole bunch of product in it.” Further, she explained, “It is definitely like shedding my past, being psychologically mean of my hair as well as physically, and just ripping it out.”
In her interview, with UFC.com, Namajunas explained that her look was not a dig at VanZant. The now OnlyF*ns model was famous for her looks and fighting ability in the UFC in 2015. Fans believed Namajunas’ new look was to slam VanZant’s appeal.
Rose Namajunas never looked back on her iconic buzz-cut look
Rose Namajunas’ buzz cut has become famous in MMA and beyond. It’s not just a hairstyle anymore, it represents strength, realness, and empowerment. When Namajunas got her buzz cut in 2015, it was different from what people usually expect from women in MMA, which often emphasizes toughness. Cutting her hair wasn’t just about looks; it showed she was confident and defied society’s norms, as she explained.
Rose Namajunas was emotional after becoming strawweight champion for a second time 🏆 #UFC261 pic.twitter.com/Ytl6jiTvJI
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 25, 2021
She has never looked back at her buzz cut and she sports it almost a decade later in 2024 as well. Since getting her buzz cut, she went on to become a two-time UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion. Thug Rose also debuted in the flyweight division in September 2023.