Rose
Namajunas recently detailed an “uncalled for” interaction with
the father of upcoming opponent Maycee
Barber.
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Namajunas and Barber will meet in a flyweight contender matchup in
the main event at UFC
on ESPN 59 on July 13. Thanks to a six-fight winning streak,
Barber is oozing confidence going into her clash against the
two-time UFC champ. While Namajunas has no issue with Barber’s
confidence, she felt that “The Future’s” father was disrespectful
towards her.
“I love when fighters are confident. I like when they believe in
themselves,” Namajunas told MMAjunkie.com. “To me, as long as she ain’t
being disrespectful I’m cool with it. Her dad was kind of
disrespectful I kind of felt, like back in the day. But that’s him.
You know, so whatever. But her, I think she should keep doing what
she’s doing, and I respect everything that she’s done. I think
she’s really developed into an impressive prospect that I’m looking
forward to facing.”
The incident took place after a fight when Barber’s father
allegedly got actively involved in calling out Namajunas. According
to “Thug” Rose, corners getting involved in smack talk is only fair
game when the other party has initiated it.
“He was just yelling in my face saying that like, ‘We’re coming for
you.’ It’s like, ‘Hey, chill out man.’ Because I don’t have a dad
in my life, so I’m going to have to get some other people,”
Namajunas said. “Because if we’re gonna gang up on me then I gotta
get a gang up, too…
“[It was] after a fight. I’m sure emotions were high, but I
personally was like, ‘That was uncalled for on his part.’ To me
it’s like, if my corner starts attacking my opponent, then the
opponent’s corner has the right. We’re all fighting now… To me
that’s the etiquette. It should be just between the fighter and the
fighter. I know that if you’re a parent, like you might have a
little more emotion involved, but still you’ve got to control
yourself. That’s not cool.”
Namajunas is coming off a unanimous decision win over Amanda
Ribas at UFC
on ESPN 53 in March that saw her bounce back from a two-fight
slump.