MMAjunkie's '2017 Female Fighter of the Year': Fighting the good fight in and out of the cage

There’s rising to the occasion, and then there’s what Rose Namajunas did in 2017.

The year didn’t start off that auspiciously for Namajunas. In her last effort of 2016, “Thug Rose” saw the momentum she’d built with three consecutive wins go down the drain with a split call that went Karolina Kowalkiewicz’s way in a UFC 201 title eliminator.

Kowalkiewicz went on to get her shot at UFC glory in a UFC 205 meeting with long-reigning champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC). Namajunas (7-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC), in turn, sat it out until April 2017, when a UFC on FOX 24 encounter with Michelle Waterson (14-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC) offered her a chance at recovery.

Much like what happened in her meeting with Paige VanZant, Namajunas wasn’t the one with the hype when she met Waterson – who was then fresh off her own win over VanZant. But again, none of it mattered when Namajunas secured a fight-ending choke.

Meanwhile, Jedrzejczyk continued on her path of destruction. After besting a game Kowalkiewicz en route to an unanimous decision, the then-champ defended the title for a fifth time with yet another dominant showing over the heavy-handed Jessica Andrade.

The dominant win over Waterson, aided by the unique state of the Jedrzejczyk-dominated 115-pound division, was enough to grant Namajunas her second stab at the belt. But the betting odds reflected a general sentiment that it was unlikely she would take it.

The habitually low-key Namajunas soon saw herself under the bright lights that accompany a title shot, but with an added component: Jedrzejczyk’s aggressive energy. Sure, having your skills diminished by your foe comes with the territory. But the pre-fight banter was taken to a new realm when Jedrzejczyk questioned Namajunas’ mental stability – a sensitive subject that, given Namajunas’ family history, hit a little too close to home.

Namajunas, however, took Jedrzejczyk’s best shots with poise. Rather than let her past fuel others against her, she owned it. She used her platform to openly talk about the demons that had haunted her life in hopes that they would help change the lives of others.

Then she walked into the cage at Madison Square Garden.

Beating a champion who had never been beaten before, with the odds overwhelmingly against her, would have been quite the accomplishment in itself. But Namajunas took it one step further: She stopped the surgical, vicious striker in the first round … with strikes.

We’d have been impressed enough already. But, overachiever that she is, Namajunas made sure to top it all off with her post-fight interviews. At a time when it’s the angry, expletive-filled tirades that seem to get people title shots, money fights and headlines, Namajunas made herself memorable simply by opting out of it all.

“Just with the rest of the world, I think there’s a lot of negativity everywhere you look,” Namajunas said. “It’s just negativity all the time. I’m just trying to be that positive light as much as possible. I’m not perfect, either. But maybe we’ll figure out how to make this world a better place.”

For what Namajunas did in the cage that night, she won MMAjunkie’s “2017 Upset of the Year.” But it’s for all that she brought with it that Namajunas gets Women’s Fighter of the Year.

Honorable mention: Cris Cyborg

Cris Cyborg

It’s frankly impossible to have discussions about women in MMA without listing Cris Cyborg. While she has been an unstoppable force both in and outside the cage for several years now, 2017 was the year in which we finally saw her claim and defend a UFC belt. And not just any belt: the one of a division created around her.

The UFC 219 title defense against former 135-pound champ Holly Holm (11-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) may have been a little closer than many expected. But, rather than a demerit to either, that’s a testament to two things: Holm’s own skills and Cyborg’s (19-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) history of plowing through her competition.

Whether you’re on board with all of Cyborg’s outside-the-cage actions or not, fact is that the UFC’s 145-pound champion had to put up with a lot to get to where she is. Whether you like all of her demands or not, it’s absolutely admirable that she has both the guts – and, finally, the leverage – to make them.

In a world where compliance is still widely expected from women, Cyborg has been brave enough to stand up for herself, call her own shots and consistently make her voice heard.

Namajunas got the nod here because she shocked the world in 2017. But the fact Cyborg has looked so consistently impressive that we’re not even surprised anymore couldn’t go unnoticed.

Also see:

• MMAjunkie’s ‘2017 Male Fighter of the Year’: Max Holloway’s old-school approach felt new again
• MMAjunkie’s ‘2017 Fight of the Year’: Debuting champion lives up to hype
• MMAjunkie’s ‘2017 Knockout of the Year’: A head-rattling heavyweight finish
• MMAjunkie’s ‘Submission of the Year’ for 2017: An insane finish makes history
• MMAjunkie’s ‘2017 Comeback Fighter of the Year’ is a pretty obvious choice
• MMAjunkie’s ‘2017 Comeback of the Year’: Darren Elkins lives up to ‘The Damage’ nickname
• MMAjunkie’s ‘2017 Under-the-Radar Fighter of the Year’: A champion before joining UFC
• MMAjunkie ‘2017 Upset of the Year’: Thug Rose! Thug Rose! Thug Rose!
• MMAjunkie’s ‘2017 Breakout Fighter of the Year’: UFC newcomer wasted no time rising up
• MMAjunkie’s 2017 ‘Newcomer of the Year’: Despite late slip-up, Californian made mark in hurry
• MMAjunkie ‘2017 Round of the Year’: Absolutely menacing highlight
• MMAjunkie’s ‘2017 Robbery of the Year’: The MMA gods giveth, and they taketh away
• MMAjunkie’s ‘2017 Coach of the Year’: Former champion becoming standout instructor
• MMAjunkie’s ‘2017 Gym of the Year’: New entrant makes immediate impact