Tag: Carla Esparza

Rose Namajunas Apologizes Following Loss At UFC 274

Rose Namajunas has apologized on social media following her lackluster split-decision loss to Carla Esparza at UFC 274. The former strawweight champion took to her Instagram the day after losing the title to acknowledge her poor performance, but also gave credit to Esparza and thanked those that have supported her “Sorry to everyone I fucked…

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Rose Namajunas has apologized on social media following her lackluster split-decision loss to Carla Esparza at UFC 274.

The former strawweight champion took to her Instagram the day after losing the title to acknowledge her poor performance, but also gave credit to Esparza and thanked those that have supported her

“Sorry to everyone I fucked up definitely feel like a shitty human being but this will make me a better hats off to Carla and thanks to everyone who’s been there for me.”

Several fighters responded to Namajunas’s post with messages of support, including former strawweight queen Joanna J?drzejczyk.

“Don’t be sorry Champ! You don’t have to. It’s a tough business we’re in! Get some rest!! ?”

J?drzejczyk defeated Esparza to claim the strawweight belt at UFC 185, but later lost the title to Namajunas in 2017 and came up short again in their 2018 rematch.

J?drzejczyk wasn’t the only former champion and Namajunas opponent to offer support. Jessica Andrade commented on the post with her own words of encouragement while also weighing in on the outcome of the bout.

“you are amazing, a true champion. this victory shouldn’t have gone to carla. I’m with you? ???”

Andrade upset Namajunas to win the strawweight belt in their 2019 bout before losing to Zhang Weili in her first title defense. Namajunas was able to get the split-decision nod in the 2020 rematch with Andrade before going on to reclaim the strawweight belt with a first-round stoppage victory over Zhang.

This post from Namajunas is a notable departure from her previous comments in the immediate aftermath of the fight, where she indicated that the boos raining down from fans in Phoenix, AZ were directed at Esparza and that Rose felt she’d done enough to retain her title.

Previously undefeated in rematches during her career, “Thug” Rose is now 0-2 against Esparza. This decision loss comes seven years after her being submitted by Esparza in 2014 when the two women squared off in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter to crown the promotion’s inaugural strawweight champion.

While there’s been considerable discussion online about the scoring of the bout and no shortage of controversy regarding the decision, UFC President Dana White has already shared his thoughts on the possibility of a third fight between Esparza and Namajunas.

What do you think of Rose Namajunas’s most recent comments following her loss at UFC 274?

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Jéssica Andrade Wants “Champion Of Boredom” Esparza’s Head

Former UFC strawweight champion Jéssica Andrade wants a shot against Carla Esparza after her unusual title win at UFC 274. Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas via a split decision at UFC 274. Despite the victory, it was arguably the most lackluster title fight in UFC history, with very little output from both women from start to…

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Former UFC strawweight champion Jéssica Andrade wants a shot against Carla Esparza after her unusual title win at UFC 274.

Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas via a split decision at UFC 274. Despite the victory, it was arguably the most lackluster title fight in UFC history, with very little output from both women from start to finish.

Esparza is 2-0 over Namajunas in her professional UFC career after defeating her in The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale in 2014 via submission. However, Andrade is less than impressed by her latest title victory.

Following the UFC 274 co-headliner, Andrade aimed at the new strawweight titleholder.

“I take advantage that you didn’t block me on twitter,” Andrade tweeted. “I want to say that your fight yesterday was the worst in strawweight history, champion of boredom, I can’t wait to rip your head off. congratulations on the boredom belt, but fans of this sport want to see a massacre, I’ll do!”

Andrade is coming off of a post-fight bonus winning performance against Amanda Lemos at UFC Vegas 52. She secured a rare standing arm triangle submission in the first round in her return to strawweight.

Esparza won five in a row entering the title rematch with Namajunas, including a second-round finish of Yan Xiaonan last May.

Andrade is the No. 5 strawweight contender in the latest rankings and seems intent on pursuing another strawweight title shot against Esparza later this year.

What are your thoughts on Jéssica Andrade’s challenge to Carla Esparza?

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Esparza: “It’s Hard To Fight Someone Who Doesn’t Wanna Fight”

UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza puts the blame on Rose Namajunas for how their fight played out at UFC 274. Esparza captured the strawweight title in a split decision win in the UFC 274 co-headliner. She is now 2-0 against Namajunas in her career after defeating her for the then-vacant title on The Ultimate Fighter…

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UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza puts the blame on Rose Namajunas for how their fight played out at UFC 274.

Esparza captured the strawweight title in a split decision win in the UFC 274 co-headliner. She is now 2-0 against Namajunas in her career after defeating her for the then-vacant title on The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale.

Esparza and Namajunas put on one of the most lackluster fights in UFC history, with both women failing to provide much output for five rounds.

During her UFC 274 post-fight press conference, Esparza explained what her corner told her heading into the final round, and gave her thoughts on Namajunas’ approach.

“I believe my coaches told me that I was winning, I think they said she was going to be a little bit safe in that last round,” Esparza explained. “I’m not too sure, in that last round I was just like ‘oh my gosh, I wanna do more, I really want to set in the eyes of the judges’. I hate to say it this way, but it’s hard to fight someone who doesn’t wanna fight.”

Namajunas claimed in her post-fight presser that the fans were booing Esparza, not her, during the slow-paced title fight. Before the loss to Esparza, she earned back-to-back wins over Zhang Weili last year.

Esparza worked her way back to the strawweight title shot with five-straight victories, including most recently over Yan Xiaonan last May. She also picked up decision wins over Marina Rodriguez and Michelle Waterson during her winning streak.

As she begins her second strawweight title reign, Esparza will put Namajunas in the rear-view mirror for now and will keep her eyes on the upcoming Joanna J?drzejczyk vs. Weili rematch.

Who do you blame for the lackluster Carla Esparza vs. Rose Namajunas fight at UFC 274?

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Rose Namajunas Adamant She “Won” Title Bout Against Carla Esparza At UFC 274: “I’m An Exciting Fighter”

Rose NamajunasFormer UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas believes she won the title contest against Carla Esparza at UFC 274. In one of the more slow-paced fights of the night, Carla Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas to take home the strawweight title. While the bout itself felt like a long dragged-out affair with little to no significant […]

Rose Namajunas

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas believes she won the title contest against Carla Esparza at UFC 274.

In one of the more slow-paced fights of the night, Carla Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas to take home the strawweight title. While the bout itself felt like a long dragged-out affair with little to no significant moments, Namajunas has defended her performance and insisted that she is an exciting athlete to watch.

During the post-fight press conference, ‘Thug’ Rose claimed that she won the rematch against Esparza and believes herself to be the rightful owner of the UFC gold.

“I won that fight. I stuck with the strategy. I felt like as if I landed more shots. I even took her down. None of her takedowns were significant or (had) any control time,” Namajunas said.

“She hit me with, I’d say, one good punch. And then, maybe another time, her forearm clashed into my nose at some point. I felt like I did the damage, I controlled the fight, and I’m proud of myself because I stuck to my strategy, ‘cause I know that in all of Carla’s fights, she just baits people in, and she tries to get people to attack her.

“I’ve been in slugfests before. I’ve gotten my nose broken, I’ve stood there and shed blood in the Octagon, so it’s, like, I stuck to the strategy. She didn’t really have any offense, she was whiffing at air the whole time. So, I thought I won.” (h/t Bloody Elbow)

Namajunas speculated whether the judges had a bias toward seeing a slugfest instead of a strategic affair.

“There were moments when I wanted to capitalize a little bit more, be a little more offensive in moments. But then, every time I would step, my foot would slip. So I had to be a little more safe,” Namajunas said.

“That’s the decision I made in the moment, but I am an exciting fighter, I’m a finisher, I won the highest finishing rate. So I don’t think that I was getting the boos, I’m pretty sure that was Carla.”

Do you believe Rose Namajunas won the fight against Carla Esparza?

Dana White: Nobody’s Clamoring To See Esparza/Namajunas 3

After one of the most unusual UFC title fights, Dana White doesn’t want to see Carla Esparza vs. Rose Namajunas 3 anytime soon. Esparza defeated Namajunas via split decision in the UFC 274 co-headliner. Despite the high anticipation surrounding the rematch that was years in the making, the fight played out as one of the…

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After one of the most unusual UFC title fights, Dana White doesn’t want to see Carla Esparza vs. Rose Namajunas 3 anytime soon.

Esparza defeated Namajunas via split decision in the UFC 274 co-headliner. Despite the high anticipation surrounding the rematch that was years in the making, the fight played out as one of the biggest duds in the promotion’s history.

Esparza and Namajunas failed to dish out much output throughout the fight. Outside of a few takedowns from Esparza, and a few timely strikes from Namajunas, the Footprint Center was extremely restless about the pace of the fight.

During his UFC 274 post-fight press conference, White addressed what’s next for Esparza, Namajunas, and the strawweight title picture.

“Well, I don’t think anybody’s clamoring for that rematch,” White said of Esparza vs. Namajunas. “We’ll have to figure something else out. Listen, Rose is one of the best. She’s always gonna be there. We’ll see what happens.”

White went on to state that the upcoming rematch between Zhang Weili and Joanna J?drzejczyk at UFC 275 could determine the next title challenger for Esparza.

The Esparza vs. Namajunas fight was so underwhelming that the commentary team of Jon Anik, Joe Rogan, and Daniel Cormier seemed to talk more about other past lackluster UFC fights than the co-main event itself.

UFC 274: Carla Esparza upsets Rose Namajunas for title
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

As boos rained down on Esparza and Namajunas after the decision was read, Esparza explained that she didn’t want to take a reckless approach when matched up with Namajunas’ stand-up game. Despite her explanation, the Phoenix, AZ crowd was anything but forgiving.

Namajunas felt she won the fight, and that the fans were solely booing Esparza and not her during the fight.

Esparza is now 2-0 against Namajunas after defeating her for the then-vacant strawweight title at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale in 2014. She went on to lose the belt to Jedrzejczyk in her first title defense.

Before the latest loss to Esparza, Namajunas earned back-to-back wins over Weili last year, including a head-kick knockout at UFC 261.

Who do you want to see challenge Carla Esparza for the next strawweight title fight?

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Namajunas On UFC 274: I Won That Fight; Fans Booed Esparza, Not Me

Following her highly criticized UFC 274 co-main event against Carla Esparza, former champion Rose Namajunas feels confident about two things: she was the rightful winner of the fight and the restless audience was jeering Esparza, not her. In 2014, Carla Esparza became the first UFC strawweight champion when she defeated Rose Namajunas via unanimous decision….

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Following her highly criticized UFC 274 co-main event against Carla Esparza, former champion Rose Namajunas feels confident about two things: she was the rightful winner of the fight and the restless audience was jeering Esparza, not her.

In 2014, Carla Esparza became the first UFC strawweight champion when she defeated Rose Namajunas via unanimous decision. At UFC 274, Namajunas had the opportunity to showcase just how much has changed since their initial clash.

Instead, fans were treated to what some are calling the most boring fight in the entire history of the UFC. Even the color commentators on duty, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier, had a mouthful to say about the lethargic co-main event.

For Namajunas, her primary concern wasn’t about putting on a show but rather sticking to the game plan and emerging victorious. The former, she says, was a success; the latter, however, did not go as expected.

UFC 274 results, highlights: Carla Esparza earns strawweight title with decision over Rose Namajunas - CBSSports.com
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When Carla Esparza was crowned strawweight champion at the expense of Namajunas for the second time, “Thug Rose” seemed genuinely shell-shocked at the outcome. At the UFC 274 post-fight press conference, she detailed why that was the case.

“I won that fight,” Namajunas began. “I stuck to the strategy. I feel as if I landed the more shots. I even took her down. None of her takedowns were significant or any control time. I mean, she hit me with, I’d say, one good punch and then maybe another time her forearm clashed into my nose at some point as we were posting up.

“But other than that, maybe a couple low kicks, but I didn’t feel them or anything. So I feel like I did the damage, I controlled the fight, and I’m proud of myself because I stuck to my strategy. That’s because I know that, in all of Carla’s fights, she just baits people in and she tries to get people to attack her.

“So it’s like, no, I’ve been in slugfests before. I’ve gotten my nose broken. I’ve stood there and I’ve shed blood in the Octagon. So it’s like, I stuck to the strategy. And she didn’t really have any offense. She was whiffing at air the whole time. So I thought I won.” 

Namajunas: The Fans Weren’t Booing Me

Namajunas stated that she did not like sounding “salty,” but she was merely being candid in her immediate post-fight assessment of what transpired. The former champion also went on to say that the slippery canvas is what prevented her from taking more chances.

“Thug Rose” also addressed the crowd’s reaction to the contest. While Namajunas is one of the more popular fighters on the UFC roster, as evident by the cheers she received during her entrance and introduction, that did not prevent the fans from letting both her and Esparza hear it for their display.

However, Namajunas doesn’t feel she was actually booed during the co-main event. Instead, she believes the incessant boos raining down on the Octagon throughout the fight were likely directed only at Esparza.

“There was moments where I wanted to capitalize a little bit more, be a little bit more offensive in moments, but then every time I would step, my foot would slip. So I had to be a little more safe. So that’s the decision I made in that moment,” Namajunas said.

“But like I said, I’m an exciting fighter. I’m a finisher. I have one of the highest finishing rates. So I don’t think that I was getting the boos. I’m pretty sure that was Carla. [LAUGHS]”

What are your thoughts on Rose Namajunas’ comments? Do you agree that she won the fight? And do you think the fans were aiming their boos only at Carla Esparza?

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