Rose Namajunas’s finger injury was no joke.
Brian Butler-Au, manager for Namajunas at Sucker Punch Entertainment, posted a photo on Sunday morning of Namajunas’ badly injured pinky finger on her right hand.
Namajunas (11-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC) sustained the injury in the very first round of her UFC flyweight debut against Manon Fiorot (11-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 226 in Paris. In the end, Namajunas lost a unanimous decision to the French fighter.
Butler-Au believes the injury played a factor in Namajunas’ defeat. She did point out her injury to her corner the second the first round ended, saying she had likely broken her finger, and she mainly kept her right hand open for the majority of the fight.
“This is what happened to @rosenamajunas hand in the very first clash in the first round,” Butler-Au wrote on Instagram. “Not being able to make a fist caused a mental battle to keep fighting and carried into the second round.. by the third round Rose was ready for 2 more. Such is the fight game 🤦🏻♂️ She is in good spirits and heading home now 🙏🏼🌹.”
UFC Fight Night 226 marked Namajunas’ return to MMA competition in over a year. Prior to her fight against Fiorot, Namajunas was last seen in May 2022 when she lost her UFC strawweight title fight to Carla Esparza in a lackluster unanimous decision.
The 31-year-old is currently 3-2 in her past five bouts. Namajunas indicated at media day on Wednesday that she was likely going to stay at 125 pounds for the remainder of her career.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 226.
