Tag: Carla Esparza

Carla Esparza Shares Theory On Why She Continues To Be Overlooked

Carla Esparza thinks being overlooked has been a theme in her career so far. Carla Esparza has had a wonderful career up until this point. She was the first-ever UFC strawweight champion and has beat some of the best fighters in that weight class. She now has the opportunity to fight for the belt once…

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Carla Esparza thinks being overlooked has been a theme in her career so far.

Carla Esparza has had a wonderful career up until this point. She was the first-ever UFC strawweight champion and has beat some of the best fighters in that weight class. She now has the opportunity to fight for the belt once again and will be taking on the woman she beat the first time she won the title, Rose Namajunas. Esparza sat down with MMA Junkie to discuss what it would mean to her to win this title once again.

“That moment when I won the belt the first time was the best moment of my life up until that point and it would be really hard to beat that,” Esparza said. “Winning the belt again would be so phenomenal. Almost eight years later, almost everything I’ve gone through in the UFC since then, it would be a huge moment in my life.”

It has been seven and a half years since Esparza defeated Namajunas in the finale of The Ultimate Fighter to become champion. She lost the title to Joanna J?drzejczyk in 2015 and has been trying to get it back ever since.

Carla Esparza vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk: Winner, Scorecard, Reaction from UFC 185 | Bleacher Report | Latest News, Videos and Highlights
Credit: Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

In the meantime, Namajunas has won the belt twice and solidified herself as one of the best fighters in the UFC. With a résumé as prestigious as Namajunas’s, she is many times the favorite. That makes Esparza the underdog, which is nothing new to the former champion.

“I would say probably a lot of people are overlooking me. It has been the theme of my career. I’ve been the underdog a lot,” Esparza explained. “I’ve been physically the smaller fighter in most of my fights and I think just because I’ve never been so vocal and I tend to be more humble and I don’t talk about myself and how I’m going to dominate this next person. That gives people the feeling that ‘Oh, she’s not hyping herself up, she must be scared, she must not be confident.’ My confidence comes from inside. I don’t need to be vocal about what I’m going to do, I just go in there and do it.”

Esparza gets the chance to win back her title against Namajunas on May 7 at UFC 274 live from the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Do you think Carla Esparza will defeat Rose Namajunas at UFC 274?

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Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza II Set For UFC 274

Rose Namajunas Carla EsparzaStrawweight champion Rose Namajunas has been set her next title defence at UFC 274 in May when she rematches against Carla Esparza. The pair initially faced off against each other for the first time at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale in 2014 for the inaugural strawweight title. Esparza would get the better of the current […]

Rose Namajunas Carla Esparza

Strawweight champion Rose Namajunas has been set her next title defence at UFC 274 in May when she rematches against Carla Esparza.

The pair initially faced off against each other for the first time at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale in 2014 for the inaugural strawweight title. Esparza would get the better of the current champion in this meeting and submitted her via rear-naked choke in the third round.

Namajunas and Esparza are set to co-main event the UFC 274 card of May 7th at the Footprint Centre In Phoenix, after it was confirmed by Sports Illustrated.

From the pairs first meeting, Rose Namajunas has gone on to claim the strawweight tile on two separate occasions and made her first successful defence of it against Zhang Weili at UFC 268 beating the former champion via split decision.

Esparza has been on an impressive run of her own picking up five straight wins in a row. Esparza started this off with decision victories over Virna Jandriroba, Alexa Grasso and Michelle Waterson. Esparza would then beat two fellow top contenders first by getting past Marina Rodriguez back in July of 2020. She would follow that victory up with her most impressive win in this spell by stopping Xiaonan Yan in the second round at UFC FN: Font Vs. Garbrandt.

Rose Namajunas And Carla Esparza added to UFC 274.

With the confirmation of this fight the UFC 274 card reads as followed:

  • Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje – for lightweight title
  • Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza – for women’s strawweight title
  • Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson
  • Mauricio Rua vs. Ovince Saint Preux
  • Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon
  • Brandon Royval vs. Matt Schnell
  • Blagoy Ivanov vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
  • Macy Chiasson vs. Norma Dumont
  • Ariane Carnelossi vs. Loopy Godinez
  • Kleydson Rodrigues vs. CJ Vergara
  • Danny Roberts vs. Francisco Trinaldo
  • Randy Brown vs. Khaos Williams
  • Fernie Garcia vs. Journey Newson
  • Michael Johnson vs. Alan Patrick
  • Tracy Cortez vs. Melissa Gatto

Which fight are you looking forward to most at UFC 274?

Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza Reportedly Set For UFC 274

UFC Strawweight Champion Rose Namajunas will reportedly defend her title against Carla Esparza next in a rematch years in the making at UFC 274. News of the booking was first reported by Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. Namajunas is coming off of back-to-back wins over Zhang Weili in 2021, including most recently in an immediate…

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UFC Strawweight Champion Rose Namajunas will reportedly defend her title against Carla Esparza next in a rematch years in the making at UFC 274.

News of the booking was first reported by Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated.

Namajunas is coming off of back-to-back wins over Zhang Weili in 2021, including most recently in an immediate title rematch at UFC 268. She reclaimed UFC gold by knocking Weili out with a head kick at UFC 261.

Namajunas has won three straight fights since losing her strawweight title to Jéssica Andrade at UFC 237, before getting revenge against Andrade in a non-title bout at UFC 251.

Carla Esparza
Carla Esparza, Image Credit: Getty Images

Esparza makes her return to the strawweight title fight following five-straight wins. She most recently earned a dominant second-round submission of Yan Xiaonan last May after winning a close split decision over Marina Rodriguez.

Esparza won the then-vacant strawweight championship following a win over Namajunas on The Ultimate Fighter 20. She went on to lose to Joanna J?drzejczyk in her first title defense at UFC 185.

Namajunas hasn’t had many stumbles since the loss to Esparza. She has earned dominant wins over J?drzejczyk, Paige VanZant, and Michelle Waterson, to name a few.

UFC 274 will be headlined by a lightweight title bout between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje. It’s expected that Namajunas vs. Esparza 2 will serve as the co-main event.

UFC 274 will take place in Phoenix, AZ at the Footprint Center on May 7. UFC president Dana White has recently hinted that the winner of the matchup will face Rodriguez for the next title bout.

What is your prediction for Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza 2?

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J?drzejczyk: Namajunas Is On A Different Level Than Esparza

Joanna J?drzejczyk believes we will hear “And Still” when Rose Namajunas rematches Carla Esparza sometime later this year at a date TBD. Namajunas and Esparza first fought back in 2014 for the inaugural strawweight title which Esparza won by third-round submission in the finale of TUF 20. After that, J?drzejczyk went on to beat Esparza…

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Joanna J?drzejczyk believes we will hear “And Still” when Rose Namajunas rematches Carla Esparza sometime later this year at a date TBD.

Namajunas and Esparza first fought back in 2014 for the inaugural strawweight title which Esparza won by third-round submission in the finale of TUF 20. After that, J?drzejczyk went on to beat Esparza to win the belt and had it until Namajunas knocked her out in 2017.

With Namajunas reclaiming the belt in 2021, she now appears set to rematch Esparza sometime this year. It’s an intriguing matchup as Esparza has had a career turnaround of sorts but in the rematch, J?drzejczyk believes it will be Namajunas getting her hand raised this time around.

I'm so proud of you' – Rose Namajunas shares touching moment with her parents after beating Zhang Weili at UFC 268

“I think that Rose will defend her belt,” Jedrzejczyk told MMA Junkie. “Carla won back in the day in 2014, but both of them are totally different fighters, different athletes with different mentality, as well, but I think that Rose will win this fight. She’s very strong. She’s very, very fast. Her timing is just perfect with her footwork. Of course, Carla has a few wins streak, but Rose is a different level, I think.”

If Rosa Namajunas does defeat Carla Esparza as Joanna J?drzejczyk thinks it’s likely Marina Rodriguez would be next for the champ. However, the Pole has made it known she still wants the third fight against ‘Thug’ even though she’s 0-2 to the champ.

The plan for J?drzejczyk is to rematch Weili Zhang sometime this year and should she win, she could very well earn another title shot. She still remains a big name in the sport and she could help sell the fight against Namajunas, which could happen sometime in 2023 as she looks to reclaim her belt.

Who do you think will win the fight between Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza?

Continue Reading J?drzejczyk: Namajunas Is On A Different Level Than Esparza at MMA News.

Archives: Esparza & J?drzejczyk Offended By Fedor’s Comments (2015)

The UFC 185 co-headliners sound off on Fedor’s recent comments.

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Months ago, Khabib Nurmagomedov made headlines after implying that women’s mixed martial arts is inferior to men’s mixed martial arts. Specifically, Khabib used Julianna Peña’s victory over Amanda Nunes at UFC 269 as an example in support of his claim and, unsurprisingly, Peña took issue with these remarks.

Seven years ago, another Russian MMA legend, Fedor Emelianenko, made very similar remarks. And then-champion Carla Esparza as well as Joanna J?drzejczyk both were offended, not unlike Julianna Peña years later.

The following article was published on this day seven years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.

On This Day Seven Years Ago…

[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED MARCH 12, 2015, 1:48 PM]

At the UFC 185 open workouts on Wednesday, UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza and number one contender Joanna J?drzejczyk took exception to recent comments made by MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko.

During a recent WHOA TV interview, the former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko controversially stated that he felt MMA is a man’s sport, adding that women have no business fighting in MMA.

Esparza and J?drzejczyk, who compete in the co-main event this Saturday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, disagree.

“I like him so much and he’s a living legend,” J?drzejczyk said. “But I think we can do a pretty good job, you know? I think it’s not right. We can fight good, we can bring the audience and we can make the show better. That’s all.”

“Facts speak for themselves,” Esparza agreed. “He’s one of the greats. I have nothing against him. Maybe we differ a little bit in opinion. You know, I think Ronda and the crowd she brought in to LA, the proof is in the pudding. It shows right there.”

Esparza continued, “I think female MMA is basically the biggest female sport out there right now. We’re being put on the same stage as the guys, and obviously, Ronda is headlining even above all the guys. It just goes to show, we’re on top right now.”

“Some people are always going to feel the way they feel. But I think day-by-day, fight-by-fight, I’m hearing those whispers a lot less than I used to I think if we go out there and keep showing that we have skills, that we have heart — I feel like a lot of times girls bring it even more than the guys just with their tenacity and they’re just non-stop. That’s why it is where it is right now because they keep proving themselves.”

Esparza concluded, “We’re legit and we’re here to stay. Nothing is going to stop this momentum that’s been going with the women.”

What do you think about Fedor’s comments about WMMA?

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White On Rodriguez Facing Esparza/Namajunas Winner: “Makes Sense”

It appears that UFC strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez did enough to earn a No. 1 contender spot in her win over Yan Xiaonan at UFC 272. Rodriguez won a closely-contested top-5 matchup against Xiaonan in a back-and-forth war on the feet. Rodriguez struggled with Xiaonan’s speed early in the fight but found a rhythm with…

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It appears that UFC strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez did enough to earn a No. 1 contender spot in her win over Yan Xiaonan at UFC 272.

Rodriguez won a closely-contested top-5 matchup against Xiaonan in a back-and-forth war on the feet. Rodriguez struggled with Xiaonan’s speed early in the fight but found a rhythm with her pacing as the bout went on.

Rodriguez has been on a roll in the strawweight division after an impressive 2021. She earned three-straight wins last year including lopsided victories over the likes of Michelle Waterson and Mackenzie Dern.

During his UFC 272 post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White said it “makes sense” that Rodriguez would face the winner of Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza.

The promotion has been working on booking the Namajunas/Esparza rematch in 2022. Although it hasn’t been formally announced, it’s widely expected to be the next title fight at 115 pounds.

Rodriguez made her UFC debut back in 2018 following a gruesome knockout of Maria Oliveira on Dana White’s Contender Series. She has yet to face Namajunas in the UFC but lost in a close split decision against Esparza in July 2020.

Namajunas earned her second stint as the strawweight queen by knocking out Zhang Weili at UFC 261. She would follow it up by earning a decision win over Weili in their rematch at UFC 268.

Rodriguez is looking to become the latest Brazilian UFC champion and the first Brazilian strawweight champion since Jéssica Andrade held the title in 2019. She’ll have the chance to prove herself with her next Octagon appearance, which is expected to be for a championship belt.

Do you think Marina Rodriguez is a future UFC champion?

Continue Reading White On Rodriguez Facing Esparza/Namajunas Winner: “Makes Sense” at MMA News.