Rose Namajunas is ready for a title shot after UFC on FOX 24, and Dana White agrees

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Act like a champion, and become a champion.

That’s the attitude UFC strawweight Rose Namajunas took even before she upset betting favorite Michelle Waterson at Saturday’s UFC on FOX 24.

One small measure of Namajunas’ mindset (6-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) – she changed the bulk of her computer passwords to “AndNew2017.” She said that should explain her title aspirations following a second-round submission of Waterson (14-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) on the FOX-televised main card at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

“That’s just what I have in mind, just that general goal,” she told MMAjunkie. “So sometime before the year’s over with. But I don’t want to put any specific stamp on it just yet.”

The win put Namajunas back on the map in a big way after a decision loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC 201, which put Kowalkiewicz on track for an all-Polish title fight against champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 205.

Waterson had built a fair amount of hype when she routed UFC starlet Paige VanZant at UFC on FOX 22. But Namajunas dominated her from the opening bell, and dropped her in the second frame with a head kick before securing a rear-naked choke.

The impressive finish didn’t escape the attention of UFC President Dana White, who heard Namajunas’ subsequent request for a title shot and believes it might be the right time to grant one.

“I do,” he said at the post-fight news conference. “I think in her fight with Karolina, you saw how Karolina fought Joanna. That fight was amazing; she looked great. Rose went back to the drawing board, and she looked amazing tonight. She thinks she’s ready for a title, and I agree with her after tonight’s performance.”

Namajunas said bringing her whole team together helped her deliver the way she did on Saturday. They’ll have their work cut out if the next opponent is Jedrzejczyk, who’s next scheduled to face Jessica Andrade at UFC 211.

But against Waterson, Namajunas said she was firing on all cylinders.

“It feels really good to have my team in the corner,” she said. “I was just flowing out there. I felt like I made a few mistakes in the first round, but I just had to stay calm and go back to the corner and take a deep breath. The second round, I knew it was going to come together.”

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 24, check out the UFC Events section of the site.