UFC Journey: Amanda Ribas vs. Rose Namajunas [PART 1] | ESPN MMA In Part 1 of UFC Journey, watch as Amanda Ribas vs.
[Music] I don’t have pressure at all because I know myself as a person I know how to win I’m training so hard and so intense to get better all the time I am prepared to end this fight in the first round becoming the champion is unlike anything I had experienced in my life I still believe that I have what it takes I truly want to just be the best version of myself and get as much out of this journey that I’m on as I [Music] can CH bit it’s much better again one more anybody that has followed my career knows that I have quite a resume being a two-time champion I would say that everything that happened in the past is probably very important for molding me the way that I am right now that’s great position two more leading up to the last strawweight title fight that I had when I lost about to Carla my life and my career was like a whirlwind hey one big breath I would describe that whole chapter of my life as like just trying to figure things out I put a little bit too much faith in my finances and and achieving these accomplishments you know must do this or else I’m nothing now it’s like I put so much more faith into into God and and to take care of me I’m very happy with the growth that I’ve made as a fighter and as a person I just know so much more now I’m so much more mature I’m so much stronger obviously it feels very good to to just look back at you know some of the things that I’ve you know gone through and done and good or bad whatever you know and and to just see where I’m at right now and be like I can get myself a little pat on the back roll number un is really someone to keep an eye on this is she’s going to keep getting better this girl isn’t even close to her prime Monumental Victory as she becomes an immediate title Contender oh another knockdown Bros nunis trying to close the show that is it do Bros nunis there is a new straway Queen and still oh her head over head un out Jessica TR is the new UFC straway [Music] champion Rose Rises to occasions she relishes challenges that’s what she’s in this sport for to find out out what is her spirit who is she when she’s [Music] pushed as we the stwe throne I am the best she has stayed true to herself and produce some of the most memorable moments we’ve ever seen the absolute highest of the highs and the absolute lowest of the lows is something that not even most fighters in the actual sport get to experience I’m truly grateful for that and so here I am two times straway Champion uh on a mission to become two Division champion hey get a good position B again P been part of my life for a long time he’s been in my corner my whole career right there he’s a great asset to this journey in this life that I’m on than you want to share it with somebody you know and what better person to share it with than your your best friend and your you know your significant other there I’m Mr whatever needs to be done whatever it takes in order for Rose to be happy Rose has never been one for titles this and that she wants the challenge continuing fighting at strawweight she probably end up fighting the same two people again two three people again but now she wanted a different challenge Rose decided let’s go up let’s go see what 25 feels like this is why I say rose is a gangster that’s why she Thug Rose this will be Rose’s second fight at flyweight she knows what it feels like she knows what to expect now here come Amanda he is very tough opponent very game opponent she’s got a lot of experience this is a big fight that’s going to determine uh where she goes from here D this it’s worth it it’s worth it I’m try not to no bang it bang it bang it [ __ ] finish me so we get in practic I’m very excited about this fight Amanda is a great opponent to have on my resume I think I’m going to dominate and uh put a very spectacular performance on yeah for my family is proud of me because I represent them I represent the heart of my dad I represent the brain of my mom and I represent how strong they are share this Su of my career with my family is most important for me because we came from nothing my childhood was inside the gym because my dad and my mom works all the time inside the gym that my dad had the gloves was my pillow my blanket wor the ghee of my dad so for me my gym is always my house my dad is a little crazy I get my intensity from him my dad’s fight career was crazy because he fought valud valud means street fight no rules people fight without gloves with a lot of blood and I love it so much because I know where I’m from the fight changed my life Chang my family’s lives my whole family work at the gym my dad is my coach this is a really an advantage for me because I know I can trust 100% I’m [Music] done [Music] [Music] my journey to get where I am now is with a lot of ups and downs I came from jujito and Judo and I start to train in the UFC sent to me the contract I was really happy was a feeling so good inside my heart we made it sometime later I was training really good and I was to do my debut in UFC UFC sent me an email they said I was using some substance that they don’t prove and it was how how this substance get in my body the UFC give to Me 2 years of suspension I cried two days I cry a lot but Monday I was at the gym training really hard I was trying to take advantage with what I can learn about the UFC how I can get better and almost 2 years when we were at the end of suspension UFC called me and said I was innocent when you do the right thing the right thing come back to you in the right time and this happened to me me one year and 8 months later I was innocent and with a fight in the UFC at long last the UFC debut has arrived for Amanda heas oh wow Amanda heas submits Emily Whit me in her UFC debut and if you know this woman you know how much this means to her this woman is absolutely ferocious as all the makings of a future star watch out for the arm bar oh she tapped a quick night at the office he’s an animal and her star just continues to [Applause] shine I am excited to fight against Rose because for me she is a legend and one time my dad said to me if you want to be a legend you need to win of one I know is dangerous to fight against Rose I need to be careful of her experience and of her striking I know she’s really fast so I’m trying to get faster this match up will be on fire I’m training to do five rounds but I hope we can finish in the first round Rose’s skills is really good but I training a lot to fight against her so so my skills will be better I want to finish her with my best job ever last year we had potatoes in here and then we had peppers tomatoes all in the front then we had squash in the back like pumpkins and um we had like our row vegetables or like like root vegetables over here we had like beets onions carrots radishes growing up in Milwaukee Wisconsin it wasn’t always the best of neighborhoods I witnessed lots of violence and things like that it’s the little apple trees I planted my mentality was how can I make something positive of whatever it is that I’m giv the Little Seeds we had a little area for like a couple tomato plants growing up I just was fascinated with nature the only other outlet that was the closest thing that I could get to Nature I felt like was martial arts you know doing something physical getting in touch with your kind of more instinctual side we got our basil that became the Escape for me when I was a young kid I’m going to be a farmer one day and that’s since I was a little girl that’s all I’ve wanted to be but for now it’s fight and I think those two really go hand in hand there’s very few things that can compare to the feeling of getting your hand raised getting that championship belt or getting dropped on your head but then Here Comes gardening you’re experiencing maybe not quite the adrenaline rush but the feeling of accomplishment and the feeling of like doing something that super satisfying you’re creating something rather than trying to be destructive all right I really enjoy watching the little progress here we go it always worked to just bring me back into a I guess a calmer State there’s a never ending Rabbit Hole of things that you can learn I’ve been uh playing piano since I was 5 years [Music] old come from a family of musicians so I love playing piano it’s just a really good way to simulate the brain good music definitely is very healing for the soul over time there was just moments throughout my fight career when things were maybe stressful it helped me kind of step back and really reinvent certain aspects of myself [Music] mentally I was not in a good place in my last straw weight title defense that was hard to overcome I don’t regret any of the decisions that I made that one was rough because it was like dang I really let people down after that fight I got offered men on furo at flyweight she was the number one Contender that was my hope to win that fight and then fight for the belt after that but we kind of had to take a step backwards it ended up being a blessing in disguise I had a lot of questions going into that fight and I had a lot of them answered no question flyweight is definitely somewhere where I can be and where I can succeed and where I can become the champion it just only motivated me more and it made me really want to just get right back in [Music] there now I’m facing Amanda so that’s pretty [Music] awesome geared up today huh huh you’re geared up today huh y serious losing two fights in a row which never has happened before in my career it’s definitely a blow to my ego it definitely adds a little bit more pressure in order to not let that build to an unhealthy amount of pressure I just focus on okay when am I controlling today what can I do to make sure that I win this fight right hand right kick pressure no pressure I just have to show up and do my job quick one once you get to where she’s at 31 years old now you never know when it’s going to come to an end so every fight is the most precious fight right now this fight versus Amanda heus is the biggest fight of rose’s career Amanda’s fighting style consists of you can call it like balls to the wall man she just goes for it yep yep yep yep yep start moving up Rose being the methodical uh technical fighter that she is her job is to get in there and to punch the fight out of Amanda she has to make Amanda start questioning whether or not she wants to continue I just know that a lot of good things are in store I do got some stuff to prove I’m definitely using that as feel for myself so I make sure that I continue to climb up that ladder and make sure that I’m still adding to my resume of being a legend that I can win this fight and become Champion [Music] again for me because I can show through the world that dreams come true I try to take the best part in all that things that I pass through the bad things and the good things I think in all parts we can learn something the people here in Virginia they treat me really good whenever I need something they y with me and they give me all the support but for my family suspension was really hard because here in Virginia a lot of people were saying to them that hm if they put some drugs in his child what they will do with our we lose a lot of athletes in our gym for I think for my dad it was more tough then for me but now I know and he knows too was the best thing that can happen to me because I know in that time I was not prepared it was positive for me to take this time to learn more about the UFC every minute you’re in a fight with heas she believes she can win it so you never really get in her head what helps her win is her intensity man she’s just intense the whole walk out through in the first round I was going to the fight just with my heart oh he’s chin is wide open there my dad said to me Amanda what are you doing you forgot strategy you forgot your propos and the second round I start to do the strategy that we trained it oh biggest punch of the fight and in the third round I was feeling so good and I get her with my kick oh spin kick to the face and then drops are with the rights that is why fight fans love watching Amanda heas work all the training I put my clock for me wake up in the morning with the name bonus with spinny kick so all the days before the fight when I wake up I woke up with bonus with the spinny kick and I think that was in my brain I have a propose in my life because UFC change my my life and my family’s life and I said to God after this fight I take the price and do my Institute to change the children’s in my neighborhood life too it’s important for me to give back because I know it’s not everybody that have the blessed that I have with my family so I want to be a example for kids I want them to see me conquer a things and be a good person and I put some propose from my career I said to myself that if I want more fights with a bonus I will take that bonus and put in my Institute and all the training all the time at the fight against Lana I was thinking on that fore this huge for me I’m going to this fight with fire in my eyes in my heart and in my gloves I want to do my job I want to show to everybody not just for her why I am here and why I train so hard in the gym to be a champion I visualized myself taking the center of the Octagon establishing my my movement my range my distance my game plan every time punch them in the face take their back and choke them out that’s what I plan on [Music] doing the light in my eyes is because I really believe that I’m blessed I conquer the RO and I will conquer Rosina may unas I am excited to show to to all the people I can be the champ