From staring stone-faced at the UFC 217 press conference to whispering the Our Father prayer during the weigh-in staredown, Namajunas admitted Monday to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour that it was difficult for her to hold back when Joanna Jedrzejczyk got in her face and said hurtful things.
In the end, though, it was worth it. Namajunas responded when it was needed most — in the actual fight. She knocked Jedrzejczyk out in the first round to become the UFC women’s strawweight champion at UFC 217 on Saturday at New York’s Madison Square Garden.