A new ranked
UFC flyweight tilt will also serve as the announcement that the
promotion is heading back to Atlanta.
On Thursday, Miranda
Maverick (15-5) broke the news on Instagram that she
will be throwing down with Rose
Namajunas (13-7) on June 14. While the location has not yet
been confirmed, the expected destination of this UFC
Fight Night card will be at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. If
this remains the case—the promotion is actively shifting card
locations as of late—it will be the first non-pay-per-view show
held in the capital city of Georgia. It is currently the only bout
announced thus far for the event.
“Thug Rose” has had mixed results since moving up to the flyweight
division. While she has picked up decisions over Amanda
Ribas and Tracy
Cortez, a ceiling as developed as both Manon
Fiorot and Erin
Blanchfield turned her away. Nevertheless, Namajunas will
always be a two-time UFC strawweight champion, first claiming it
from Joanna
Jedrzejczyk in 2017 and then winning it back in 2021 from
Weili
Zhang. The Wisconsin native has gone the distance in her last
six outings, with five of them five-round affairs.
Maverick is currently riding a UFC tenure-high four-fight win
streak. Tapping Priscila
Cachoeira in 2023, she went on to claim decisions over Andrea Lee,
Dione
Barbosa and Jamey-Lyn
Horth in 2024 to get a ranked spot in the weight class. Ahead
of the pairing, Maverick gushed about her opponent.
“Rose Namajunas has been an inspiration for so many women,
especially in WMMA, and I am no exception,” Maverick wrote on
Instagram.
“I watched her fight as I was coming up in the sport and then I got
train with her on a regular basis. We have been training together
for the past few years, but luckily train primarily at different
gyms. Now it’s time to duke it out in front of the world and then
go back to sharpening each other’s tools. I’m honored to share the
cage with a champion person and fighter and I am ready to put the
stamp on where I belong!”