Before the current season of "The Ultimate Fighter" premiered, UFC president Dana White expressed his excitement over the 20 women competing for the strawweight championship and even went as far as to say there's a "Next Ronda Rousey" among them.
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Now that she's seen the first episode and had the chance to spend time with the contestants, Rousey was able to choose who most reminded her of herself and could possibly emulate her star power.
"I definitely think it's Rose Namajunas," Rousey told MMAFighting.com during a media scrum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. "I called it from the very beginning. As soon as I saw her, I saw this girl is special."
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The UFC women's bantamweight champion admitted to being a fan of Namajunas even before the start of "TUF 20."
"I've been following her for two years, I only finally got to meet her (recently)," she said. "I've been stalking her on Instagram for year. It was so great to be able to meet her, and I wish her all the luck. I can't wait to see how she does in the season."
This season of "TUF" will crown the first 115-pound champion in UFC history. There are strong contestants like former Invicta FC strawweight champion Carla Esparza and rising contenders Joanne Calderwood and Felice Herrig.
Namajunas only has three professional fights to her name, going 2-1. She debuted for Invicta in January 2013 and won her first fight by rear-naked choke. Three months later, she landed an impressive flying armbar in 12 seconds for her second win. She suffered her first loss by decision in her final Invicta fight before joining "TUF."
"She's got an amazing skill set, she's an exciting fighter. She takes risks, she's gorgeous, and she's charismatic," Rousey said. "I really think she has all the tools that are needed in order to be the next really influential champion."
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