Rose Namajunas reacts to former rival Zhang Weili’s one-sided loss to Valentina Shevchenko

‘Thug Rose’ had a vested interest in the UFC 322 co-main event.

Before Islam Makhachev dominated Jack Della Maddalena to become a two-division UFC champion, Valentina Shevchenko prevented another legend from achieving the same feat.

After vacating the strawweight throne, Zhang Weili failed to unseat Shevchenko in what marked the Chinese star’s first foray into the Octagon as a flyweight.

In moving up, Weili followed in the footsteps of a former two-time opponent, who watched what unfolded at Madison Square Garden while continuing to plot her own path to the flyweight mountaintop.

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Rose Namajunas pays tribute to ‘favorite fighter’ Valentina Shevchenko after UFC 322

Namajunas, a former two-time strawweight queen, has won three of her last four flyweight fights and currently sits at No. 6 in the rankings.

After returning to winning form by defeating Miranda Maverick last time out, ‘Thug Rose’ would have had a keen eye on the next title fight in the division ahead of UFC 322.

But that won’t have been the only factor piquing her interest. Namajunas also has history with Weili, having become the first and only woman to beat her at 115 pounds — a feat that Namajunas achieved twice.

Having watched ‘Bullet’ also get one over ‘Magnum’, Namajunas was full of praise for the flyweight legend and women’s GOAT contender on Instagram.

“I’m still so happy for @bulletvalentina victory! She is still my favorite fighter!” Namajunas wrote.

“She never makes it about herself. The first thing she did was dedicated the belt to her coach. She doesn’t glory in herself or care to be idolized, she just loves martial arts to the fullest!

“Training with her years ago taught me so much and gave me extra confidence to become a champion! She inspires me to always work hard and be better than I ever imagined myself and be grateful for every moment!