Namajunas sees her old self in defeated VanZant

After just a brief moment of celebration following her submission victory over Paige VanZant in the main event of UFC FIght Night 80 on Thursday night at The Cosmopolitan, Rose Namajunas turned to hug her dejected opponent.

She had a good idea of just how VanZant was feeling.

"I feel like the position she's in is where I was a year ago. Similar, at least. I know no two situations are exactly the same, but. I can feel for her," Namajunas said. "She showed a lot of heart in this fight so I know she's going to come back real strong."

Namajunas carried much of the same hype that surrounded VanZant into her Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, almost a year to the date prior.

After sweeping her way through "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show, Namajunas entered her fight against Carla Esparza for the inaugural women's strawweight title as the anointed next superstar in female fighting.

Then, Namajunas got steamrolled and became yesterday's news at just 22 years old.

Thursday's win put her right back in the mix.

"(One of the big keys is) not paying attention to too much of what's going on around me and people talking. Really just monitoring all the pressures," she said. "I haven't been on my phone. That's been one huge help. When you start to look at the media and what people are saying, you stop listening to yourself and that's the main person that knows your position best. That's one little thing.

"I've also been more honest with myself and constantly soul-searching, trying to improve every day as a person."

Perhaps more importantly, she said everything just came together at the right time.

:"My talent, first. My will to win and obviously my coaches and my teammates behind me," she said. "It was just a perfect storm. And then obviously all my experiences put together. I'm just ready to get to the top."

Everything I knew from studying her and knowing what I'm good at and what she's good at, it just all came together.

Still, it wasn't easy. Namajunas thought she had VanZant on the ropes several times before the finish actually happened.

"A couple times I was frustrated, but I kept hearing my corner reaffirming what I was doing and they were just telling me to let the finish come, don't force it. When I force things, it doesn't go well," she said. "But I also knew beforehand that she was going to be flexible and that there were going to be submissions there, but it might not be a finish right away."

Now she is right back in the mix. She won't, however, lobby for an immediate title shot again. She knows she has plenty of time to build herself back up.

Plus, she has more immediate plans.

"There's a lot to think about. I definitely feel I'll be ready for a title shot, but I also want to get a little vacation time in and enjoy the holidays," she said. "It just depends how things line up. I don't want to jump at it too fast. There are some things I felt like I could have improved in the fight and been more comfortable in certain spots. It was definitely a great performance, but you can always improve.

"I don't want to get overly excited."

She also wants to buy her first house. Namajunas got a nice start on the deposit with a $50,000 performance-of-the-night bonus from the company.

If she continues to fight like she did Thursday, there will be plenty more of those in the future.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj