You had two opposing gameplans - Carla Esparza explains why fight against Rose Namajunas lacked action
Carla Esparza won the women's strawweight title from Rose Namajunas at UFC 274, but the fight was one of the most uneventful and universally panned title fights in the history of the UFC. Instead of getting to celebrate her second reign as champion, Esparza's had to spend a lot of time explaining what happened that night in Arizona.
Speaking to MMA Fighting, Esparza gave her thoughts on why Rose Namajunas refused to engage. She said:
"Her corner and her game plan was just waiting for me to make a mistake and get wild and come in too wild and aggressive. And she kept her composure too, and you had two kind of opposing game plans and it just kind of led to a result like this which is unfortunate because you never want to have a fight like that. it's a bummer and you want the fans to be happy and excited about your fight."
Watch the full interview with Carla Esparza below:
'Cookie Monster' was awarded the victory via a split decision that saw one judge give the fight to Namajunas 48-47 while the other two had it 49-46 and 48-47 Esparza. Initially 'Thug Rose' stood up for her performance saying the judges ignored her superior defensive fighting. The day after the event, though, she shared an Instagram message saying "Sorry to everyone I f***ed up."
The win puts Carla Esparza on an impressive six-fight win streak, and while her win over Namajunas wasn't great, she did earn an impressive TKO stoppage over Yan Xiaonan in her previous fight.
Carla Esparza says Marina Rodriguez deserves a title shot more than Weili Zhang
While Weili Zhang put on a powerful performance at UFC 275 by knocking out Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the second round, Carla Esparza believes Marina Rodriguez should be the No. 1 contender at 115 pounds. In her interview with MMA fighting, Esparza said:
“I don’t think [Zhang] is [more deserving]. I think that Marina has won five straight, I think she’s beaten top-level competition. She’s been staying active, and for me, she’s proven herself. She deserves a title shot. But for whatever reason, I’m sure there’s a lot that goes into it and Weili is getting the shot. For me, I fight whoever’s put in front of me, but doesn’t necessarily mean I think it’s fair or was the right call as far as the athlete goes.”
While Rodriguez has the more impressive streak running, Zhang has undoubtedly faced better opposition. Her spinning backfist knockout of Joanna Jedrzejczyk was a Knockout of the Year candidate, and her most recent loss to Rose Namajunas was via razor-thin split decision.
Add in Zhang's star power and Esparza is probably correct in assuming the UFC will be picking 'Magnum' as the next women's strawweight contender.
youtu.be/oHfZRiGMWOs.@joannamma predicts Zhang Weili will finish Carla Esparza in the first round.
"I truly feel that [Zhang] is going to be the champ."
Full #UFC275 post-fight scrum ▶️ youtu.be/oHfZRiGMWOs https://t.co/np8Yooci53