"She lost the fight to herself" - Carla Esparza makes bold claims about Rose Namajunas not being her usual self during UFC 276 fight
Carla Esparza won the UFC women's strawweight belt off Rose Namajunas at UFC 276 in what is being widely called the worst title fight in UFC history. Just 67 significant strikes were thrown by both women over the course of their 25-minute title fight that saw Esparza have her hand raised via split decision.
Esparza is now in the middle of a somewhat unusual post-victory interview run, having to explain the non-action from the fight and why she thinks the bout went her way.
During an interview with The MMA Hour, Esparza said:
"I definitely feel like she lost the fight to herself. She went in there and she fought ... I don't want to say with fear, but she was worried about the takedown and very focused on that and didn't fight her game. And didn't let off as much as she could of. So I definitely feel like it was a lot of a mental thing."
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"She's beat the best of the best, she's fought high level opponents. But she hasn't really fought a lot of wrestlers to get where she is. She hasn't fought a lot of people like me and I've fought a lot of people like her. So I feel like I was more comfortable fighting a someone her style and she wasn't as comfortable fighting someone my style."
Watch Carla Esparza's full interview on The MMA Hour below:
Carla Esparza reacts to all the negativity surrounding her win over Rose Namajunas at UFC 274
Saturday night at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona should have been amazing for Carla Esparza as she became a two time UFC champion. Instead, she faced a hostile crowd that booed her heavily as Dana White placed the belt around her waist.
Speaking to The MMA Hour, she said:
"I felt the criticism during the fight, I mean the boos, the fans weren't happy with the fight and I knew that. And it's a bummer, it had the potential to be a great fight, such a great story going into it. So many years, I feel like it's such an accomplishment to come back for me eight years after winning the belt and having some lows and highs and winning this.
"For me it's just such a crowning achievement and I feel like it's taking a little bit away from it. Like, the fan reaction, which I don't blame the fans for not being happy about the fight. It's just a bummer that things went down that way."
Following the fight, Dana White said it was unlikely the UFC would set up an immediate rematch between Namajunas and Esparza.
Instead, the winner of the UFC 275 fight between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Weili Zhang will likely serve as Carla Esparza's first title defense.