Even so, Namajunas is at a point where she knows she can only control her own actions while taking time to recuperate and reload. For her, that also means spending time with nature. Whether she is gardening and growing her own food, tending to her swarm of bees or swimming in a river, Namajunas is always looking for ways to ground herself and spend time in nature.
Experience also affords a fighter perspective, as well as self-awareness, and Namajunas recently had a revelation about herself: she wasn’t doing as much as she thought she was.
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“All of a sudden, the smoke cleared and I could see differently.” Namajunas said. “I saw myself differently than I ever did, and I finally understood what Pat (Barry) and my other coaches were telling me. (They said), You’re kind of just letting these girls do stuff in training.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, I get it now.’ I used to be like, ‘I’m trying my hardest. What are you talking about?’ I’m breathing heavy. And then I watched it, and I’m like, ‘Man, I’m not doing nothing. I don’t know what I thought I was doing.’”
That realization, plus the added physical and mental strength from lifting more weights and acclimating to the flyweight division, had Namajunas feeling strong through her fight camp for Maverick. According to Namajunas, she was able to up her output without feeling more fatigued, and she hopes to show as much in the Octagon on June 7.
