Rose Namajunas doesn’t see a reason to make things personal for her upcoming title fight against UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili, but she’s definitely motivated by the politics of it all.
As she prepares to battle Zhang for the 115-pound title at UFC 261 on April 24, Namajunas recently talked about her Lithuanian heritage and the country’s fight for freedom from the communist Soviet Union, which ended in 1990. Namajunas then related that to Zhang’s own home country of China, where the communist party remains in power today.
According to Namajunas, whose family hails from Lithuania, she’s found a new drive to beat Zhang after educating her teammates on Lithuania’s own history to rid the country of communism after living under Soviet rule following World War II.
“I don’t hate Weili or anything like that, but I do feel as though I have a lot to fight for in this fight and what she represents,” Namajunas said when speaking to Lithuanian outlet LRT ahead of UFC 261. “I was just, I was just trying to remind myself of my background and everywhere that I come from and my family and everything like that. And I kind of wanted to educate my training partner Chico Camus on the Lithuanian struggle and just the history of it all. So we watched ‘The Other Dream Team’ just to get like an overall sentiment of what we fight for. And so, just after watching that it’s just a huge reminder of yeah — better dead than red, you know?
“I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Weili is red, you know, that’s what she represents. It’s nothing personal against her, but that’s a huge motivating factor of why I fight and I fight for freedom and I’ve got the Christ consciousness, I’ve got Lithuanian blood and I’ve got the American dream, and all of those things I’m taking with me into this fight.”
The phrase “better dead than red” was a slogan popularized in the late 1950s as a rallying cry for anti-communism during the Cold War and the McCarthy era.
Lithuania lived under communist rule from the Soviet Union for over 40 years, and the country was renamed the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. During those years, many war crimes were committed while several uprisings took place as factions inside Lithuania fought to break free from Soviet rule.
The country finally gained its independence in 1990 during the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The documentary “The Other Dream Team” that Namajunas mentioned was a film released in 2012 that told the story of the Lithuanian basketball team that played during the 1992 Olympics. Prior to those games, many Lithuanian players were part of the Soviet Team, but after gaining independence, the country decided to field its own team.
With little money allocated to send a team to the Olympics, the band The Grateful Dead funded the Lithuanian basketball team, and they went onto win a bronze medal that year. The term “the other Dream Team” is reference to the United States’ 1992 team, which was nicknamed “The Dream Team” after NBA players took part in the Olympics for the first time. The U.S. took home gold that year.
On a more personal note for Namajunas, her great grandfather was killed by Soviet forces while he was serving in the Lithuanian military.
Of course, Namajunas tying Lithuania’s own history with communism to Zhang seems like a stretch, considering China had nothing to do with the Soviet occupation of the country. While China still lives under communist rule — the Communist Party of China — Zhang has never made any outward public statements showing support for the government there.
It’s also well known, however, that the Chinese government cracks down on dissidence shown by its citizens with censorship and sometimes even imprisonment.
Regardless, Namajunas is drawing motivation from Zhang’s heritage as a fighter from China as they prepare to clash with the strawweight title going up for grabs at UFC 261.
Comments
Cannot wait to see where this dead red thread goes…
By JohnWinger on 04.11.21 4:09pm
At least none of us will go to jail for what we post.
By Keyboard_warrior on 04.11.21 4:20pm
Nope
Just like our government doesn’t for their war crimes
By Be subpar for Ja'Marr on 04.11.21 4:32pm
Read arlant’s post below. Be more grateful.
Bad things happen on all sides. It’s pretty clear who has done worse.
By Keyboard_warrior on 04.11.21 4:55pm
Not THAT clear, really.
And even if it were (it’s NOT), mass murder isn’t a competition in which whoever has done less of gets a pass.
By BorderlineSuperhero on 04.11.21 5:37pm
These are the same people that’ll tell you
Our election was rigged, our freedom is under attack because we have to wear masks to go to Walmart and most of our leadership are pedos but now suddenly it’s
"Omg be grateful"
By Be subpar for Ja'Marr on 04.11.21 6:00pm
Bad things happen on all sides. It’s clear who’s done worse
It doesn’t matter I killed 10 people.. Ted Bundy killed 36.
At least quit the grandstanding…you’d cry like a bitch if I accused you of representing slavery, illegally occupying lands, and the trail of tears. How does Zhang represent communism because she happened to be born there?
By Be subpar for Ja'Marr on 04.11.21 5:43pm
your talking about stuff that occurred over a hundred years ago
Its 2021! Get a clue instead of bringing up ancient history.
Dana not happy Rose at all!
By lowcountryone on 04.11.21 6:14pm
Hey bubba
Wasn’t the election just rigged!?!?!? Like 5 months ago?
A hundred years isn’t ancient history you dumb fuck lol
By Be subpar for Ja'Marr on 04.11.21 6:20pm
There have actually been many atrocities committed by the US within the last 100 years.
I think you missed his point.
By MaryG on 04.11.21 7:05pm
Yeah, maybe learn a little history. From 1900 to now:
Occupation: Nicaragua, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Iraq.
Initiated major wars: Korean War & Vietnam War, with countless war crimes.
Sponsored or attempted coups: Syria, Egypt, Iran, Guatemala, Cuba, Guyana, Chile, Panama.
I left out WWI, WIII, and Afghanistan because there was actually a credible reason to participate in those conflicts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_interventions_by_the_United_States
By forcemajeure on 04.12.21 1:18pm
The Korean War Was a Defensive Action by the United Nations
You should read what you link to before posting. If you had, you would know that The Korean war began on June 25, 1950, when some 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel. The Communist Chinese government is oppressing its own people on a daily basis, right now, including the systematic repression of ethnic minorities, atrocities committed against its own citizens, and a far greater daily oppression of human rights than any the USA has ever dreamed of doing. Two wrongs don’t make a right. The USA has not been an angel either, especially in other countries, but you cannot excuse China by pointing fingers at the one country that has done the most to prevent the exporting or expansion of Nazism and Communism around the world. https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/asia-and-the-pacific/china/report-china/
By Nahzuul on 04.12.21 8:26pm
You mean the country that sat back and watched as France and Britain were being pummeled by Nazi Germany and co for years and demanded conditions if it were to actually help? You mean the one country which vigorously held on to slavery and practiced enforced racial segregation far longer than it’s European counterparts?
France and Britain actually stood up against a bigger, stronger enemy while you guys sat there and did nothing, get your head out of your ass. Americans really need to wake up to the fact that despite what they are brought up to believe, they are objectively not a nation of protecting liberty.
By Boxrec on 04.12.21 10:35pm
If you read my post, I'm pointing fingers at the U.S. I'm not excusing China.
You can try to point out technicalities, but it’s not credible to try to deny that the U.S. has been one of the greatest initiators of global conflict. The point is not to feel so almighty and self-righteous when our own country has committed far worse crimes and atrocities.
Additionally, those statements about China don’t accurately portray how its actual citizens view their country. (The vast majority are pretty happy at how far they’ve come in the last 30 years.)
By forcemajeure on 04.12.21 10:36pm
You killed 10 people? on good conscious I think we can't be friends anymore.
By jesusjr on 04.11.21 9:14pm
I get your point, but Ted Bundy killed more than 36
36 is just the number of women he was convicted of for killing, but the number was higher than that.
By Blackdoug on 04.12.21 12:04am
Just for clarification
Who has done worse? Im curious to know your answer after you said it clear whos done worse.
By Trollasaurusrex on 04.12.21 3:47am
By any reasonable measure, it's the U.S. that has done worse
By forcemajeure on 04.12.21 1:19pm
Yo keyboard_warrior. What am I supposed to be grateful for?
My mom’s side is Iraqi. I’ve got uncles, aunts and cousins that I don’t know are dead, refugees or still in Iraq. I can’t find them on social media or anything (Yes. Iraq has internet and shit).
Instead of having competitions about who is worse, how about a little self-awareness. My mom’s parents’ country was bombed and levelled by one American president. The one after that droned mine (Pakistan) and started a bunch more wars. And the one after that kept that train running.
But I guess it’s hard to see a point of view when the trouble is on the other side of the world.
By AdamBass1414 on 04.12.21 1:30am
Well to answer your question
You should be grateful that you are able to speak out against the is governments horrible actions without any punishment to you. The us is not perfect in anyway but it is better than some countries that would lock you up for your comment.
Theres also the fact that you are one of the wealthiest people on the planet wether you realize it or not. Even a mediocrely paid employee working in the us is far richer than many people in many other countries. Theres also the the fact that you really dont have to worry when your next meal is coming or if you will be able to eat again. Theres lots to be grateful for if you live in the us, as well as be embarrassed or ashamed of, but if you always choose to dwell on the atrocities that have unfortunately impacted you, its hard to see them. You said the same thing yourself as well just from the other point of view.
Anyways not trying to pick a fight i just find it ironic people trash the us but willingly choose to live there as i assume you do after reading your headline. I sincerely hope you find your family alive and in well being.
By Trollasaurusrex on 04.12.21 4:05am
I'm not in the US. And thankfully I live very comfortably. My headline statement was a question I wanted to ask while I read the comment of someone telling his fellow American to be grateful
Like. Be grateful our side did the killing, murdering, bombing. My cousins and uncles and aunts weren’t soldiers, terrorists, jihadists or whatever term you want to use. They were normal people working their 9-5s, playing Playstations, paying off their Civics and Corollas and mortgages. Be grateful, our side is the one who fucked over these guys, whether they’re dead or living as refugees in some other country that also hates them.
Honestly, I had a very long thing typed out but you’re never gonna see things from my perspective. You’re not able to. But thank you for your last statement. I wish you well.
By AdamBass1414 on 04.12.21 7:36am
I honestly wish you had posted that long typed out thing (not that you owe it to anyone)
Because a perspective like yours is rare in a forum like this, and it’s one I don’t often get to hear. I appreciate you saying as much as you have.
By Overeem's Chin on 04.12.21 7:50am
If you actually believe this...
Then you have no clue about living in the U.S. I grew up extremely poor, as have many others. I basically grew up in a warzone in the chicago projects. I’ve witnessed murders, rapes, beatings all sorts of theft and more. With that being said, I’m glad that my older sisters and I (youngest of 6) were able to overcome our situation,i.e 17 people in a 3 bedroom apartment, no food for 2 weeks out of the month, utilities constantly shut off my, no proper clothing, etc. I guess the point of my disjointed post is, America is not as good or as bad as you may think. It’s all based on personal experience. Just don’t assume that we live like kings because we make more than other countries per capita. It’s definitely not true for all, just like other countries.
By Loup-Garou on 04.13.21 6:08am
in this bath house, everyone is naked, western media likes to portray Russia and china as bad guys, but west has done lots of shit too, just like the USA has killed millions in the name of democracy yet failed to bring democracy to any country they have been. No one is saint, it just comes down to perspectives and if the shit is being done to you or to someone else.
By hypnoid on 04.11.21 5:45pm
Do you know how to Google? try " WW2"
By lowcountryone on 04.11.21 6:15pm