Rose Namajunas

He enlisted in the Lithuanian military in 1933, and was promoted to lieutenant in 1936.

During the Soviet invasion of Lithuania in 1939, he fought in the resistance.

After the Soviets occupied the country, Juozas was forced to enlist in the Red Army.

Following the German declaration of war on the Soviet Union and the subsequent Soviet retreat from the Baltic states, Juozas left the Red Army and retired to civilian life.

When the Soviets re-occupied Lithuania, Juozas was arrested by the NKVD and sent to a prison camp.

He was killed by Soviet KGB agents near his home in 1968.

Namajunas's grandfather Algimantas Andriukonis was a successful wrestler, and won national championships in Lithuania and competitions in the USSR.

Namajunas regularly visits Lithuania and communicates in the Lithuanian language with her grandparents.

Rose Namajunas (born June 29, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist.

She currently competes in the women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and is a former two-time UFC Women's Strawweight Champion.

As of December 19, 2023, she is ranked #8 in the UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings.

Namajunas was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 29, 1992, to Lithuanian parents who had moved to the United States in September 1991.

She was named Rose (Rožė) in honor of her great-grandmother Rožė Gotšalkaitė Namajūnienė, whose husband Juozas was an Independent Lithuania military officer.

Namajunas's father Arturas, who suffered from schizophrenia, left the family when Rose was still young and died of pneumonia in Germany in 2008, when Rose was 16.

Her mother was a pianist, trained at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.

Namajunas grew up in Milwaukee in a tough, predominantly African-American neighborhood, where she was a witness to violence from a young age.

Her mother worked a lot and her brother was only rarely home.

Her neighborhood friends nicknamed her "Thug Rose", due to the fact that she was the only white girl among them and was the smallest, yet acted tougher than any of them.

Namajunas has mentioned being a victim of child sexual abuse, while emphasizing that she does not want to speak about specific details.

She graduated from Milwaukee High School of the Arts, where she was an accomplished cross-country runner.

Rose started practicing taekwondo at the age of 5.

She earned her poom belt (junior black belt) at age 9.

After that, she went on to practice both karate and BJJ.

While in high school, she started training in kickboxing and mixed martial arts with Duke Roufus at Roufusport, and she was also a senior-year wrestler at Milwaukee High School of the Arts.

Namajunas was scheduled to compete in a grappling match against Danielle Kelly on December 30, 2021, at Fury Pro Grappling 3 but was forced to withdraw from the event at the last minute due to a positive Covid-19 test and was replaced by Carla Esparza.

Namajunas returned to the promotion for the main event of Fury Pro Grappling 6 on 30 December 2022, where she faced fellow UFC veteran Gillian Robertson.

Namajunas lost by the bout by rear-naked choke in 65 seconds.

Namajunas also signed up to compete in the women's under 60 kg and absolute division at the ADCC Denver Open on May 13, 2023.

She won a bronze medal in the absolute division.

Namajunas began competing in MMA as an amateur in 2010.

She trained under Greg Nelson at Minnesota Martial Arts Academy.

She obtained a perfect amateur record of 4–0 with 2 wins by TKO and 2 by decision, with both finishes coming in the first round.

She made her professional debut against Emily Kagan at Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt on January 5, 2013.

After two back-and-forth rounds, Namajunas was able to secure the victory via submission due to a rear-naked choke in round three.

The victory in her pro debut also earned her the Submission of the Night bonus.

In her second professional appearance, Namajunas faced Kathina Catron at Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson on April 5, 2013.

She won the fight by submission due to a flying armbar just 12 seconds into the first round.

This performance garnered Namajunas her second Invicta Submission of the Night award.

Namajunas fought fellow undefeated prospect Tecia Torres at Invicta FC 6: Coenen vs. Cyborg on July 13, 2013.

Namajunas lost the fight by unanimous decision.