"The most peculiar fight" - Andrew Schulz on Rose Namajunas' performance against Carla Esparza in UFC 274 rematch.
In an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Andrew Schulz briefly mentioned how strange he thought Rose Namajunas' performance was against Carla Esparza. Schulz confessed that he thought Namajunas should have changed her gameplan.
During the interview, he said:
"That was the most peculiar fight that I have ever seen. I mean, she said afterwards that she was just doing what her corner said. This was the plan. But sometimes you've got to deviate from that sh*t."
Their larger conversation revolved around the backlash stemming from Israel Adesayna's lackluster showing against Jared Cannonier. Schulz came to the defense of his friend, Adesayna, saying that people often want to see violent brawls. If these expectations are not met, then the fight is labeled as "bad" or "boring."
Watch the video below:
The difference between Adesayna and Namajunas' performances was the total activity, agreed Schulz and Helwani. Adesayna did enough to deservedly retain the belt—Namajunas incorrectly stuck to a gameplan that was clearly not working.
The corner advice seemed to let Rose Namajunas down somewhat, as her coaches reinforced that she was winning the fight and looked great. It may be the only documented instance of Trevor Wittman, who coaches Namajunas, giving objectively poor corner advice.
Rose Namajunas feels she won against Carla Esparza in their title fight
After what many are calling the worst title fight in UFC history, Rose Namajunas has come out saying that she feels as though she won the fight against Carla Esparza. In a bout that seemed impossible to score due to a lack of action, the judges ended up giving the decision to Espazra.
While discussing the performance post-fight, Namajunas had the following to say:
"I won that fight, I stuck to the strategy. I felt like I landed more shots, I even took her down."
Watch Namajunas review the fight below:
Some argue that the challenger's role in a title fight is to come forward and provide action in an attempt to prove they're the better fighter. This was not mentioned during the post-fight interviews following Namajunas' lackluster showing in the Esparza fight.
The former champion's next performance will be one to watch out for, as she will undoubtedly be looking to remind MMA fans how talented she is with another iconic 'Thug Rose' moment.