'Come on, Dana. Like, seriously?'- Carla Esparza reacts to Dana White not confirming she's next in line to fight Rose Namajunas
After her win over Yan Xiaonan, Carla Esparza went on Ariel Helwani's MMA show where she made a case for a title shot. She talked about her performance and also discussed her plans for the next fight.
Esparza was also asked about UFC president Dana White's reluctance to announce her as the next title challenger:
"Come on, Dana. Like, seriously?...I know he was definitely impressed with the fight, you know, from what my coach and people said. But...you wanna hear those words, 'you got the fight. It's your fight.' Until I hear that, I'm not gonna count my chickens before they hatch but I'm hopeful," said Carla Esparza.
When asked about her opinion on the title shot potentially going to Weili Zhang, 'The Cookie Monster' said:
"For me, that fight doesn't make sense. you know, it's not like she's a...GSP or a Jon Jones, someone who's had like these 5-10 defenses...I think she's a great fighter. She might be able to make her way back there, for sure but, as far as the next fight goes, I don't think that fight makes sense."
You can listen to the full conversation below:
Esparza delivered a praise-worthy performance at UFC Vegas 27 as she defeated fellow strawweight contender Xiaonan via TKO. The former strawweight champion is now riding a 5-fight win streak and also holds a win over the current strawweight queen, Rose Namajunas.
Dana White praises Carla Esparza on her dominant win at UFC Vegas 27
During the UFC post-fight show, UFC President Dana White showered praise on Carla Esparza:
"She looked like a beast tonight. She came out and absolutely dominated. You can tell by the way she was fighting that she was trying to make a statement. Statement made. Message received. We see you."
Everyone, along with Esparza, thought she was going to be next in line for the title shot but it looks like UFC president Dana White is not really sold on the idea yet:
"I don't know what we are gonna do next, if we do the rematch or if we give it to her[Carla Esparza]."