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As a fighter with surefire star power, Rose Namajunas has had to learn the delicate balance between her personal and professional life. With her video series 'Thug Diaries ,' Namajunas allows fans to see that process up close and personal.With the video blog, Namajunas and her livewire significant other Pat Barry are showing the world what it takes to be an elite fighter in a prominent promotion, all the while taking time to live a life worth living.Furthermore, Namajunas is certainly keen to what it takes to build her own brand in a competitive game such as mixed martial arts."Fighting is great and all, but I felt like I needed to start promoting myself as an individual and not just a fighter with the UFC," Namajunas told FloCombat. "That's always been something I've talked about, and it's something as a fighter you hear people say you need to do all the time, but now I'm doing it."Honestly, it just takes so much time and energy. At the same time, I have someone who is helping me now, and that makes it a bit easier. It was also the right connection. Austin is my camera guy and he has excellent equipment in addition to having an artistic touch where he knows what to look for. I have different ideas, so we bounce those off one another, just as Pat has some great ideas he contributes to the episodes."It's been great putting something into reality that we've been talking about for so long."December 10, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Rose Namajunas lands a punch against Paige VanZant during UFC Fight Night at The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY SportsThe scrappy Milwaukee native rose to the forefront of the women's strawweight division during her successful stint on The Ultimate Fighterhas parlayed that momentum into becoming a perennial title threat in the 115-pound collective. That said, Namajunas' initial run in the spotlight didn't sit quite as well as the UFC would have hoped, and the 24-year-old exited the stage to find her peace of mind."You put all this energy into training and just focusing on fighting," Namajunas said. "And then there are all the interviews to do and things like that. Being part of the UFC is definitely cool because it's such a huge platform, but you have to use it to benefit yourself. If you just keep your head down and training and fighting is all you do and nothing is done to put yourself out there, there's no way it's going to create something for the rest of your life beyond fighting."It's a short window, and you have to take advantage of it while you can. But it's definitely a strange balance. You put all your time and effort into training and then you want to go home and just relax and heal up, but it's like, 'Nope....what else can I do to further this thing and put myself out there?' It's definitely been a learning experience."A lot of the series so far has been what I've been up to and what I do with myself outside of fighting, but now I'm going to get back into the training side of things," she added. "I'm going to remind people why they know me in the first place. I just have to keep a healthy balance of 'Outside life Rose' and 'Thug Rose' inside the Octagon."After nearly a year away from the cage, Namajunas returned with a vengeance and knocked off three straight opponents--all of which were legitimate title contenders in their own right. And while she would stumble in her title eliminator bout against Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Namajunas is confident she hasn't drifted far from the path to becoming a world champion."I'd love to get back in there this Spring," Namajunas said. "I haven't fought in a while, but the division doesn't feel any different. It doesn't feel like anything has changed. Michelle Waterson is coming off a nice win, and that seems like a good fight to have, but I'm open to fighting anyone."