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Miranda Maverick relishes big UFC on ESPN 69 showdown with 'friend' Rose Namajunas
Miranda Maverick relishes big UFC on ESPN 69 showdown with 'friend' Rose Namajunas
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Miranda Maverick UFC Atlanta Media Day
Miranda Maverick speaks to the media ahead of her fight vs. Rose Namajunas at UFC Atlanta.
ATLANTA – For someone who's about to engage in a fist fight with one of her friends, Miranda Maverick is pretty chill about it.
Maverick meets Rose Namajunas in the women's flyweight co-main event Saturday at UFC on ESPN 69 from State Farm Arena. And when they step into the cage, there will be no secrets.
Maverick, who's No. 11 in the official UFC rankings at 125 pounds, has a golden opportunity to add the biggest win of her career against a former UFC champion in No. 7 Namajunas – whom she just so happens to consider a friend. Maverick (15-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) and Namajunas (13-7 MMA, 11-6 UFC) have spent plenty of time together as training partners in Colorado. Maverick welcomes the added friendly element of familiarity heading into the fight.
"It feels amazing. It's almost no pressure, you know, because Rose and I have trained together, we know exactly what each other's gonna try to do," Maverick told reporters, including MMA Junkie, on Wednesday at UFC on ESPN 69 media day. "So it's been a hard camp. We've been pushing through this camp like no other, ready for all the pressure that we know Rose is gonna throw our way. It's just gonna be a game of fight IQ and tenacity and mental toughness, I think, at the end of the day."
Maverick, 27, is on a four-fight winning streak heading into UFC on ESPN 69. While a win certainly would be huge, she wouldn't quite declare herself worthy of a title shot. But make no mistake: Winning is the goal. If hurting a friend is what it takes, she has no reservations.
"I'm excited," Maverick said. "(Namajunas has) been an inspiration for the longest time, a friend I would call her, and now a rival. We'll go back to being friends after this fight."
