Rose Namajunas hasn’t always had the most comfortable relationship with appearance-focused side of women’s MMA. Shortly after debuting with the UFC she made the decision to shave her head, telling fans that, “It’s a fight, not a beauty pageant,” and that the “shit’s in my way at practice … cut it off!”
That hasn’t stopped the former strawweight champion from getting in front of the camera from time to time, however.
In 2018, she even stripped all the way down for the Women’s Health ‘Naked Issue.’ So perhaps it’s not such a surprise that ‘Thug Rose’ took the opportunity to become a featured model for Victoria’s Secret and their new ‘Undefinable’ ad campaign, featuring notable public figures who don’t necessarily fit the brand’s traditional model style.
“When I got into the UFC, I felt an expectation to be ‘pretty’ so that people would pay attention,” Namajunas said explained in a statement to the lingerie brand. “So, I shaved my hair off and made them pay attention.”
The campaign also features Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, musician Brittney Spencer, model Bella Hadid, and former model and activist Bethann Hardison.
For her part, Namajunas is coming off a recent loss to Carla Esparza, back in May. The bout saw the 30-year-old lose her strawweight title in a five round split decision. The longtime Trevor Wittman protege has yet to announce her next fight in the Octagon, but was on the receiving end of a callout from recent fight night headliner Yan Xiaonan, following Yan’s win over Mackenzie Dern at UFC Vegas 61 back on October 1st.