“It’s hard to throw at someone who’s not going to stand in front of you and not really engage,” Esparza said. However, she does feel like her threat of the takedown made Namajunas hesitate when striking. So, it definitely made it a little bit bittersweet on how the fight went and kind of how the fans have been reacting.”Įsparza can’t exactly pinpoint why the fight played out the way it did. “You want to win a fight showing your skills and everything you’re working for, and you want to dominate and make a statement. “You don’t want to win a fight like that,” Esparza said.

She would go on to lose her title in the following fight against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in March 2015.Įsparza is proud to have fought her way back to the belt, but does admit the nature of the fight and subsequent fallout does damper the moment. We’re going to show up like we did the first time, but it’s just going to be a higher-skilled version of that fight and that’s what I was looking forward too.”Įsparza, 34, first became champ in December 2014 when she submitted Namajunas to become the inaugural UFC strawweight champion. I was envisioning in my head, ‘We’re going to get Fight of the Night.’ Like this is the performance. I was excited to go back in front of the crowd and put on a show. “I hadn’t fought in front of a crowd since 2019 because of COVID. I hate that I couldn’t put on a show for the fans. “Nobody wants to see a fight like that, nobody wants to be part of a fight like that. “Most definitely,” Esparza told MMA Junkie. The new champion is well aware of the public disdain for the bout, and finds it to be fair.

With just 67 combined significant strikes landed over 25 minutes, it’s been touted as one of the most lackluster championship fights in UFC history.īoth Esparza (19-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and Namajunas (11-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) have been criticized for their performances in the aftermath of the event. It was an uneventful fight that ended in a split decision favoring Esparza. The more than 12-year veteran defeated Rose Namajunas to reclaim the UFC strawweight title in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC 274 at Footprint Center in Phoenix. UFC 274 is shaping up to be an absolutely stacked lineup on May 7.Carla Esparza took home UFC gold, but that also came with a big chunk of criticism. She also ended the fight on a high note by taking Esparza down. Although there wasn’t much of an offensive flurry from either fighter, it was Rose who landed more significant strikes. Whereas Rose Namajunas had the clear advantage on the feet. So much so that even ‘Thug Rose’ couldn’t deny she was the clear #1 contender despite some hesitation from Dana White to grant Esparza the opportunity. While Carla Esparza had multiple takedown attempts, she never officially secured a clean takedown. Her TKO victory over Yan was a clear statement that Esparza was ready for a shot at Namajunas’ title.

That bout would start a five-fight winning streak defeating Alexa Grasso, Michelle Waterson, Marina Rodriguez and Xiaonan Yan. All of that changed in April 2019 when Esparza earned a unanimous decision victory over Virna Jandiroba. Unfortunately the reign didn’t last as Esparza would drop the title in her next bout against Jędrzejczyk at UFC 185.Īfter losing her title, things were a bit rocky for ‘The Cookie Monster.’ Esparza would go 3-3 in her following six bouts. Winning the competition made her the inaugural women’s strawweight champion. After successfully defending the title against Zhang in an immediate rematch, she now looks to exact revenge against Esparza in May.Ĭarla Esparza (18-6-0, 9-4-0 UFC) burst into the UFC as Namajunas did, on the 20th season of TUF. ‘Thug Rose’ would drop the title just two fights later, but earned another opportunity and seized the moment at UFC 261 defeating Weili Zhang via head kick just 1:18 into the fight. As a significant underdog, Namajunas defeated Jędrzejczyk to earn her first UFC title. Namajunas bounced back from the TUF Finale loss going 4-1 in her next five and earning a strawweight title shot against then champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk. ‘Thug Rose’ would lose the bout via rear-naked choke, but her strong performance earned her a contract with the promotion.

Carla esparza