Over the weekend, the UFC crowned a new champion at 115 pounds following a tournament on Season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter. That woman was Carla Esparza, who is the first-ever female strawweight champion.
She now has a target on her back and a new…
Over the weekend, the UFC crowned a new champion at 115 pounds following a tournament on Season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter. That woman was Carla Esparza, who is the first-ever female strawweight champion.
She now has a target on her back and a new division full of eager, talented fighters. They will be competing in important bout after important bout, attempting to earn a shot at Esparza in the near future.
Following a big weekend for the 115-pound division, what’s next for the new UFC champion? Here are three women who could challenge Esparza for her UFC title next.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk
This is the most obvious choice. Between beating logical top contender Claudia Gadelha on Saturday and owning an impressive 2-0 record with the UFC, Joanna Jedrzejczyk is probably Esparza‘s first title defense.
In her bout with Gadelha, Jedrzejczyk took on a grappler with good takedowns and solid striking. That is the same skill set that Esparza has, but Esparza is likely more proficient in wrestling and smaller in size.
Jedrzejczyk showed stout takedown defense and superior striking in beating Gadelha. Coming into their bout, many saw Gadelha as the uncrowned queen of the division, but the Polish striker upended those thoughts with her surprising performance.
Jedrzejczyk is a woman that the UFC can market for a couple reasons. One, she is a foreign fighter with good English and an intense demeanor. The other reason is because she is an exciting commodity in the division with a fun style and uncanny one-punch knockout power.
She could surely give Esparza a run for her money.
Jessica Aguilar
Jessica Aguilar is considered the top strawweight in the world right now, but she is signed with World Series of Fighting. However, she has one fight left on her contract, meaning she may have to wait to make her way to the UFC.
However, it wouldn’t be out of the question for WSOF to release Aguilar before that fight takes place. Recently, they granted Ashlee Evans-Smith a release from her contract to sign with the UFC since she wasn’t staying busy enough with the company.
The problem is that WSOF doesn’t have enough talent for Aguilar to fight. A vast majority of the world’s best 115-pounders are with the UFC, and if they aren’t, they are holding out to sign with them.
Whatever happens, Aguilar could easily challenge Esparza for her belt. It would be a battle of champions that is decently marketable, especially due to Aguilar’s top-ranked status and the mainstream exposure she’s already had with WSOF and Bellator.
Katja Kankaanpaa
While the UFC continues to sort out contenders, an underdog fight that could be made would involve Katja Kankaanpaa. It could be a sort of “title unification” bout with Esparza, as Esparza is the former Invicta strawweight champion and Kankaanpaa is the current champ.
Kankaanpaa certainly would have some detractors, as she’s not even in the UFC yet. However, given her championship status and the UFC’s need to give legitimate threats to Esparza, she could fit the bill.
Outside of Jedrzejczyk, there really isn’t a top contender for Esparza. The UFC needs to find fighters with strong credentials, and Kankaanpaa has those in the form of a championship belt.
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