Rose Namajunas said she was grateful for her loss to Carla Esparza in 2014

The UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas said she was grateful for her loss to Carla Esparza in 2014.

“I had to stop acting like an asshole. I don’t mean that, but that’s just when I was moving forward in life with no purpose and nothing serious. I just needed a little dose of modesty”, said Rose Namajunas.

On December 12, 2014, Carla Esparza won the fight at UFC – The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale by submission in the third round, and the loss played a major role in Rose Namajunas’ development as a fighter.

She also shared how she felt about Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s comments that she was “emotionally unstable”.

“Maybe Joanna would have been right if I had won my battle with Esparza. But I lost her and I saw that. I was 22 then”, said Rose Namajunas.

At that age, she could become the organization’s youngest champion.

According to Dana White, Rose Namajunas (11-4-0) and Carla Esparza (18-6-0) will have their rematch this year for the UFC strawweight title.