Fiorot vs Namajunas Prediction: Will ‘Thug Rose’ Win Her Flyweight Debut?
Published
3 weeks ago
on
By
Vladislav Tchakarov
Manon Fiorot will face Rose Namajunas at UFC Paris in the Flyweight division. This will be Rose's debut in this weight class. Will the French woman defeat the American as bookmakers predict or will Thug Rose get closer to a title shot? Here is our Fiorot vs Namajunas prediction.
Fiorot vs Namajunas Prediction: Here Is Our Analysis
Manon Fiorot Preview
Manon is a 33-year-old athlete from France. She made her UFC debut in January 2021 against Victoria Leonardo, who won by TKO in the 2nd round. Fiorot's success was cemented in the 2nd match in the UFC, when she beat Tabatha Ricci.
In October 2021, Fioro raised the level of opposition and defeated Maira Bueno Silva via unanimous decision. Manon last fought in October 2022. Her opponent was Katlyn Chookagian The Frenchwoman won by unanimous decision.
Manon has a black belt in karate. She reinforced this base with Muay Thai classes. The athlete feels the distance perfectly, moves well in the octagon, throws dangerous combinations and tries to break her opponent on different levels.
Manon uses the clinch not for control, but for dealing damage with powerful elbows and knees. The Frenchwoman has one-punch KO strength – she won 6 out of 9 victories by knockouts.
Fiorot has not yet fought with many real high-level athletes, so it is difficult to objectively assess her skills. If the skills of the Frenchwoman in striking almost do not raise questions, then the level of her grappling is unknown.
With this said, let's take a look at the former champion before we make our final Fiorot vs Namajunas prediction.
Rose Namajunas Preview
Rose is a 31-year-old athlete from the United States. She started her professional career in 2013. Namajunas' early appearances were in the women's Invicta promotion, the UFC's talent league. There she compiled a 2-1 record.
In 2014, Rose took part in the 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter, where she successfully signed a contract with the UFC. Her debut took place in October 2015 against Angela Hill, whom she submitted in the 1st round.
After defeating Paige VanZant and Tecia Torres, Rose faced Karolina Kowalkiewicz for the top contender and lost by split decision.
But Kowalkiewicz did not win the title, and Namajunas defeated Michelle Watterson by submission in the 2nd round and again became the main contender. Rose approached the fight with Joanna Jedrejczyk as a big underdog. Analysts and fans did not believe in her victory, and that Namajunas would become the new champion, the bookmakers gave a coefficient of 5/1.
Joanna behaved defiantly at press conferences, saying that Rose would not be able to compete with her on an equal footing, turning to personal insults at certain points. But on November 4, 2017, Namajunas knocked out the champion in 3 minutes, overthrowing her from the throne. The UFC management organized an immediate rematch, and in the first title defense, Rose defeated Jedrejczyk by unanimous decision.
In May 2019, Rose lost her title against Jessica Andrade. In the first round, she confidently defeated the challenger in the standing position, but then the Brazilian made an amplitude throw and knocked out the champion.
In April 2021, Namajunas entered the title fight against Weili Zhang. Rose knocked out the champion in less than 1.5 minutes and won the belt for the second time.
She defended it against Weili in November 2021 before she lost it against Carla Esparza in May 2022. This was her last fight and she has not been active in over a year.
Rose is a versatile fighter. With a background in karate, taekwondo, and BJJ, she is dangerous in every way. In the standing position, she relies on technical work, snapping punches, kicks in the middle and long ranges, and phenomenal footwork that allows her to avoid damage.
On the ground, Namajunas is dangerous because she is constantly looking for an opportunity to attempt a submission. She can make a submission even while in the clinch with her back to the net. She won 5 of 9 victories by submission.
On the one hand, it seems that Rose has overcome her emotional instability. But we doubt it. The girl regularly encourages herself openly, which, in our opinion, indicates that she is not confident in herself. In a difficult situation, she can break down and give up the initiative.
Manon Fiorot vs Rose Namajunas: We Expect A Long Fight
Surprisingly, bookmakers consider Fiorot a massive favorite but we cannot agree with them for our Fiorot vs Namajunas prediction. Yes, the Frenchwoman is an incredible talent and her skills in hand-to-hand combat are obvious. But if she falls on her back, we do not see how she will escape Rose. We actually think that this will be a rather long fight. Both fighters have achieved multiple wins through finishes but this will not be an easy fight for either. The odds for the overs are good in this match. Consider either over 2.5 or over 3.5 rounds as the best Manon Fiorot vs Rose Namajunas prediction.
Vlad is a former amateur MMA fighter. After a series of injuries, he found a different way to connect with the sport and its fanbase - through writing. He's been covering everything-UFC for over 5 years on various platforms and has been part of the team at NYFights since early 2022.
