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Carla Esparza says capturing UFC gold finally starting to feel like more than a dream
Carla Esparza’s 2014 may have felt long, but it also has to feel good.
The former Invicta strawweight championship not only matriculated to the UFC by being the top-seeded cast member on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 20, she won the show and in the process, became the first-ever UFC women’s strawweight champion when she defeated Rose Namajunas at the TUF 20 Finale.
“Life has just been pretty busy,” Esparza told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s The MMA Hour. “I just actually drove in from Vegas a couple of hours ago and I’m going off to Australia tonight. Kind of non-stop. Haven’t really had much time to sit and relax and let it all sink in, but it’s still all great. I’m really happy.”
Watching Esparza compete, there was little doubt she wouldn’t advance far into the TUF 20 tournament or win outright. Yet, headed into the finale opposite Namajunas, Esparza was unusually quiet. The champion says, if she’s being honest, the pressure headed into it was a lot to handle. Almost too much.
“I was extremely nervous as for every fight, but definitely this one had a lot of pressure riding on it,” she says. “Especially because not only was it a UFC fight, but there was so much build-up and I was such an underdog. Just being the number-one seed, I just felt like I really wanted to perform out there. I definitely felt the pressure on this one. It was actually very taxing on me mentally preparing for this fight.
“In the cage I brought it all together and came home with the gold.”
Could that reserved quiet approach eventually backfire and reach the wrong end of the tipping point? Esparza says that’s something she’s not particularly worried about happening.
“No, not really, because I guess in any fight, any competition I really just feel like I want to be totally 100 percent focused and I like blocking everything out and I think that’s why I’m so quiet,” she notes. “I’m just not getting caught up in all the craziness around me because every time you fight there’s fans, there’s your opponent right across from you, staring at you. There’s a lot going on, so I just try to be in my own mind and stay focused.”
As Esparza notes, she may have been the top seed heading into the reality show. She proved her worth advancing to the finals. But by fight time, she was the underdog according to Las Vegas odds makers. Esparza claims not only did that not bother her, she actually is sympathetic to the idea that Namajunas deserved such treatment.
“I knew that going into the fight,” she says. “I guess a lot people would think that’s a little bit insulting, but for me, I don’t find that as an insult at all. I find it more as really giving Rose credit for submitting [opponents]. She was the only one who had more than one finish on the show. She submitted three of the best strawweights in the world and she displayed great striking. It doesn’t surprise me that she was rated as the top fighter and I was the underdog, just based off of her performances.”
Despite being the underdog, Esparza prevailed, dominating Namajunas and claiming a third-round submission victory. When UFC President Dana White went to put the belt around her waist to ceremonially crown her the champion, he was forced to drape it over her shoulder instead.
“That was fine. As long as I had the belt, I don’t really care where you put it,” Esparza says, noting the belt is too big to wear as one normally would. “You can put it on top of my head. It was all good for me.”
With all said and done, is there anything Esparza wishes had been different? As a matter of fact, yes. While everything worked out for her, Esparza believes (or wishes) there could’ve been a bit more lag time between the semis and the finale.
“Honestly, I wanted to live it up and kind of soak in this accomplishment,” she argues. “It’s kind of like that engagement period when somebody’s engaged and you’re like, ‘Look at my ring! Look at my ring!’ This big thing’s going to come. You’re enjoying having that coming and I wanted to have a little bit, obviously to promote the fight as well, but just to enjoy the fact that I get to fight for the UFC title. How many people get to have that opportunity in their entire life? I really wanted to have a little bit of time to just enjoy that.
“For many reasons, I wish there would’ve been a little bit more time in between the semifinal and the final.”
If that’s a complaint, it’s the only one she has at the moment. While she’s hoping to get some time off, she’s ready to fight as needed. “Whatever they tell me,” she says of UFC brass.
And when she returns, she’ll likely face Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Jedrzejczyk defeated Claudia Gadelha to claim that spot and Esparza believes that while some might view her wrestling as an advantage, she’s taking nothing for granted.
“Obviously you’re not going to take her down and she’s going to quit. She’s a very hard hitter,” Esparza notes. “I know that she could possibly knock me out. Stylistically, I guess somebody could say, ‘Hey, striker vs. wrestler!’ Yes, it is a good match-up, but she is obviously somebody some people consider to be the best in the world. I know it’s going to be a tough fight.”
Whatever comes her way, Esparza says she’s ready. This last year steeled her and helped her prove what she already felt to be true. There’s no telling how long she’ll have to enjoy that feeling, but she’s savoring it while it lasts.
“It was an amazing feeling. It felt like a dream. It didn’t feel real. It didn’t feel real until, honestly, probably [last Sunday] for me. Even my instructor, Giva Santana, texted me yesterday. He said, ‘I go to sleep, you’re the champion and I wake up and you’re the champion. I’m finally starting to realize it’s not a dream’. That’s kind of how I feel, too.”
Carla Esparza’s 2014 may have felt long, but it also has to feel good.
The former Invicta strawweight championship not only matriculated to the UFC by being the top-seeded cast member on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 20, she won the show and in the process, became the first-ever UFC women’s strawweight champion when she defeated Rose Namajunas at the TUF 20 Finale.
“Life has just been pretty busy,” Esparza told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s The MMA Hour. “I just actually drove in from Vegas a couple of hours ago and I’m going off to Australia tonight. Kind of non-stop. Haven’t really had much time to sit and relax and let it all sink in, but it’s still all great. I’m really happy.”
Watching Esparza compete, there was little doubt she wouldn’t advance far into the TUF 20 tournament or win outright. Yet, headed into the finale opposite Namajunas, Esparza was unusually quiet. The champion says, if she’s being honest, the pressure headed into it was a lot to handle. Almost too much.
“I was extremely nervous as for every fight, but definitely this one had a lot of pressure riding on it,” she says. “Especially because not only was it a UFC fight, but there was so much build-up and I was such an underdog. Just being the number-one seed, I just felt like I really wanted to perform out there. I definitely felt the pressure on this one. It was actually very taxing on me mentally preparing for this fight.
“In the cage I brought it all together and came home with the gold.”
Could that reserved quiet approach eventually backfire and reach the wrong end of the tipping point? Esparza says that’s something she’s not particularly worried about happening.
“No, not really, because I guess in any fight, any competition I really just feel like I want to be totally 100 percent focused and I like blocking everything out and I think that’s why I’m so quiet,” she notes. “I’m just not getting caught up in all the craziness around me because every time you fight there’s fans, there’s your opponent right across from you, staring at you. There’s a lot going on, so I just try to be in my own mind and stay focused.”
As Esparza notes, she may have been the top seed heading into the reality show. She proved her worth advancing to the finals. But by fight time, she was the underdog according to Las Vegas odds makers. Esparza claims not only did that not bother her, she actually is sympathetic to the idea that Namajunas deserved such treatment.
“I knew that going into the fight,” she says. “I guess a lot people would think that’s a little bit insulting, but for me, I don’t find that as an insult at all. I find it more as really giving Rose credit for submitting [opponents]. She was the only one who had more than one finish on the show. She submitted three of the best strawweights in the world and she displayed great striking. It doesn’t surprise me that she was rated as the top fighter and I was the underdog, just based off of her performances.”
Despite being the underdog, Esparza prevailed, dominating Namajunas and claiming a third-round submission victory. When UFC President Dana White went to put the belt around her waist to ceremonially crown her the champion, he was forced to drape it over her shoulder instead.
“That was fine. As long as I had the belt, I don’t really care where you put it,” Esparza says, noting the belt is too big to wear as one normally would. “You can put it on top of my head. It was all good for me.”
With all said and done, is there anything Esparza wishes had been different? As a matter of fact, yes. While everything worked out for her, Esparza believes (or wishes) there could’ve been a bit more lag time between the semis and the finale.
“Honestly, I wanted to live it up and kind of soak in this accomplishment,” she argues. “It’s kind of like that engagement period when somebody’s engaged and you’re like, ‘Look at my ring! Look at my ring!’ This big thing’s going to come. You’re enjoying having that coming and I wanted to have a little bit, obviously to promote the fight as well, but just to enjoy the fact that I get to fight for the UFC title. How many people get to have that opportunity in their entire life? I really wanted to have a little bit of time to just enjoy that.
“For many reasons, I wish there would’ve been a little bit more time in between the semifinal and the final.”
If that’s a complaint, it’s the only one she has at the moment. While she’s hoping to get some time off, she’s ready to fight as needed. “Whatever they tell me,” she says of UFC brass.
And when she returns, she’ll likely face Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Jedrzejczyk defeated Claudia Gadelha to claim that spot and Esparza believes that while some might view her wrestling as an advantage, she’s taking nothing for granted.
“Obviously you’re not going to take her down and she’s going to quit. She’s a very hard hitter,” Esparza notes. “I know that she could possibly knock me out. Stylistically, I guess somebody could say, ‘Hey, striker vs. wrestler!’ Yes, it is a good match-up, but she is obviously somebody some people consider to be the best in the world. I know it’s going to be a tough fight.”
Whatever comes her way, Esparza says she’s ready. This last year steeled her and helped her prove what she already felt to be true. There’s no telling how long she’ll have to enjoy that feeling, but she’s savoring it while it lasts.
“It was an amazing feeling. It felt like a dream. It didn’t feel real. It didn’t feel real until, honestly, probably [last Sunday] for me. Even my instructor, Giva Santana, texted me yesterday. He said, ‘I go to sleep, you’re the champion and I wake up and you’re the champion. I’m finally starting to realize it’s not a dream’. That’s kind of how I feel, too.”
