Rose Namajunas recently spoke about perhaps the most memorable moment from her recent win over Tracy Cortez.
Namajunas faced Cortez, who replaced Maycee Barber, in the main event of UFC on ESPN 59 on Saturday at Ball Arena in Denver. Namajunas had the sharper striking and outclassed Cortez in most grappling moves en route to a unanimous decision victory. But the bout’s most memorable moment came when Namajunas knocked Cortez down with a left hook in the first round, knocking one of Cortez’s false eyelashes flying.
Rose Namajunas punched Tracy Cortez in the face and ripped out her eyelashes🤣🤣🤣🤣
#UFCDenver pic.twitter.com/5WOPqcprpj
— JrRanks (@RealJrRanks)
July 14, 2024
Namajunas didn’t notice during the fight, but Zoom footage of Cortez’s fake eyelashes flying off one by one has been all over the Internet, and “The Thug” made light of the situation during an appearance on “The MMA Hour.”
“I noticed something was going on in her eyes and I didn’t know how it happened… like the camera literally caught it. [flying] “Oh, wow. That’s not fiction. God has a sense of humor,” Namajunas said. “It’s just so classic. Bless her heart.” [laughs].”
Namajunas also revealed that false eyelashes were a major point of contention between her and the late UFC makeup artist Suzie Fritton, who passed away in 2021. Fritton repeatedly urged Namajunas to wear them, but the former strawweight champion wouldn’t comply, because she thought they made her eyes look droopy. Namajunas would never encourage Cortez to wear false eyelashes, but after Saturday’s debacle, she’s wondering if her opponent has a choice.
“I don’t even wear false eyelashes,” Namajunas said. “So rest in peace Suzie. [Friton]She always did my makeup amazing, but she always tried to get me to wear them. She’s always like, “No false eyelashes.” And I’m like, “I can’t do that.” I know they look nice and all, but it’s so exhausting. And when I wear false eyelashes, my eyelids close up. And I’m like, “No, I’m not going to wear them.” That was the battle between me and her for a long time. But, rest in peace… So, I would never do that. But now it’s in fashion, so I would like to see it, I mean, it’s dangerous and I would never recommend her to wear them, but it’s just like, “Do I have to wear them?”
Namajunas lost a unanimous decision to Manon Fiorot in her flyweight debut at UFC Paris in September 2023. Since then, she has won consecutive unanimous decision victories and would like to face Fiorot in a rematch. Because the fight with Fiorot took place in her hometown of Paris, Namajunas, who is of Lithuanian descent, requested the rematch take place in Lithuania.
“My dream now is a rematch with Manon in Lithuania because I fought her in Paris and broke my pinky finger straight away and I felt it was very tough to fight with one hand. But I understand that she is also eligible for a title fight, so that’s what I want. Also, I really enjoyed this quick comeback. I would like to take some time off and do something, but if the right opportunity comes along, I’m ready.”
