Rose Namajunas Recalls 'Disrespectful' Interaction with Maycee Barber’s Father

Rose Namajunas recently detailed an “uncalled for” interaction with the father of upcoming opponent Maycee Barber.

Namajunas and Barber will meet in a flyweight contender matchup in the main event at UFC on ESPN 59 on July 13. Thanks to a six-fight winning streak, Barber is oozing confidence going into her clash against the two-time UFC champ. While Namajunas has no issue with Barber’s confidence, she felt that “The Future’s” father was disrespectful towards her.

“I love when fighters are confident. I like when they believe in themselves,” Namajunas told MMAjunkie.com. “To me, as long as she ain’t being disrespectful I’m cool with it. Her dad was kind of disrespectful I kind of felt, like back in the day. But that’s him. You know, so whatever. But her, I think she should keep doing what she’s doing, and I respect everything that she’s done. I think she’s really developed into an impressive prospect that I’m looking forward to facing.”

The incident took place after a fight when Barber’s father allegedly got actively involved in calling out Namajunas. According to “Thug” Rose, corners getting involved in smack talk is only fair game when the other party has initiated it.

“He was just yelling in my face saying that like, ‘We’re coming for you.’ It’s like, ‘Hey, chill out man.’ Because I don’t have a dad in my life, so I’m going to have to get some other people,” Namajunas said. “Because if we’re gonna gang up on me then I gotta get a gang up, too…

“[It was] after a fight. I’m sure emotions were high, but I personally was like, ‘That was uncalled for on his part.’ To me it’s like, if my corner starts attacking my opponent, then the opponent’s corner has the right. We’re all fighting now… To me that’s the etiquette. It should be just between the fighter and the fighter. I know that if you’re a parent, like you might have a little more emotion involved, but still you’ve got to control yourself. That’s not cool.”

Namajunas is coming off a unanimous decision win over Amanda Ribas at UFC on ESPN 53 in March that saw her bounce back from a two-fight slump.