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Report – Carla Esparza vs. Zhang Weili slated for UFC 281 on November 21. at MSG

An undisputed strawweight championship fight between reigning division champion, Carla Esparza, and challenger, former division titleholder, Zhang Weili is set to co-headline UFC 281 on November 12. from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Attempting to secure her first successful title defense since beginning her second reign as strawweight champion, Californian veteran, […]

Attempting to secure her first successful title defense since beginning her second reign as strawweight champion, Californian veteran, Esparza managed to clinch the undisputed crown back in May of this year in a lacklustre UFC 274 co-main event win over common-foe, Rose Namajunas.

Carla Esparza will look to land her first-ever successful UFC title defense, when paired with Zhang Weili

As for Hebei native, Zhang Weili, the former undisputed champion snapped a run of back-to-back defeats against the aforenoted, Namajunas back in June at UFC 275 in Singapore – stopping another common-opponent, Joanna Jedrzejczyk with a blistering second round spinning back-fist knockout. Ariel Helwani was first to report the news of Carla Esparza’s title defense against Zhang Weili at UFC 281.

The inaugural UFC strawweight champion, Team Oyama mainstay, Esparza managed to defeat Namajunas first back in December 2014, winning The Ultimate Fighter 20 as a result to boot.

Dropping the title immediately in a dominant striking loss to Jedrzejczyk, Esparza currently finds herself in the midst of an impressive run of six straight wins, adding Namajunas to prior victories against Virna Jandiroba, Alexa Grasso, Michelle Waterson, Marina Rodriguez, and Yan Xiaonan.

Winning her strawweight title on home soil in an August 2019 knockout win over Jessica Andrade, Weili would turn in a consensus 2020 Fight of the Year performance en route to a decision win over Jedrzejczyk in her sole title defense, before dropping the title to Namajunas in April of last year in a brutal high kick KO loss.

UFC 281 takes place on November 12. from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York – with an official headlining bout for the penultimate pay-per-view event of 2022 yet to be determined by the promotion.

Esparza vs. Zhang Reportedly Signed For UFC 281 On Nov. 12

A second title fight looks set to go down inside Madison Square Garden on November 12, with a bout between Carla Esparza and Zhang Weili reportedly agreed to for UFC 281. Joining a blockbuster headliner between middleweight king Israel Adesanya and Ale…

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Carla Esparza Updates Fans After Treatment & Sets Return Timeline

UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza is setting a timeline to return to action. Since winning the UFC strawweight title back in May, fans have been eager to hear when champion Carla Esparza would be back in the cage. Right after her victory over Rose…

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J?drzejczyk Backs Zhang Title Shot, Suggests Esparza “Might Be Scared”

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna J?drzejczyk has backed two-time opponent Zhang Weili’s claim to a title shot but admitted that Carla Esparza’s ‘fear’ may get in the way. At UFC 275 last month, J?drzejczyk collided with Zhang in a much-anticipated rematch. While the spinning backfist that ended the contest in the second round left…

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Peña Applauds Esparza’s Approach To Being Champion

UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña is impressed with how recently crowned strawweight champion Carla Esparza has handled herself since winning the belt. The 32-year-old was recently asked by The Schmo for her thoughts on “The Cookie Monster”. Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas at UFC 274 to reclaim the strawweight title she originally won in 2014…

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UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña is impressed with how recently crowned strawweight champion Carla Esparza has handled herself since winning the belt.

The 32-year-old was recently asked by The Schmo for her thoughts on “The Cookie Monster”. Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas at UFC 274 to reclaim the strawweight title she originally won in 2014 at the conclusion of The Ultimate Fighter Season 20.

Peña was quick to praise the 34-year-old for her ability to persevere and get her belt back, as well as how she’s conducted her business as champion so far.

“I love Carla, you know what I mean?” Peña said. “I won The Ultimate Fighter then she won it right after me. I love that she’s Latina and love that she is able to go in there and win her belt back. I thought it was very inspiring and I loved what she did. And do whatever the champ wants, whoever you wanna fight. I like that she’s standing up and says, ‘I call the shots here’.

Esparza was the second female to win *The Ultimate Fighter* after Peña won Season 18. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

There’s no date or opponent set for Esparza’s first title defense yet, but many assume former champion Zhang Weili is currently at the front of the line following her highlight-reel knockout of Joanna J?drzejczyk at UFC 275.

Esparza has so-far resisted being pressured into any matchup, and The Schmo mentioned that the 34-year-old recently suggested Marina Rodriguez as a possible challenger instead of Zhang. Peña thinks that Esparza has earned the right to make those calls for herself.

“Of course, everyone’s gonna be barking up at her, but she’s the queen, she decides, and she’s the one who’s gonna be able to decide who her next fight is and who’s deserving or not. And I definitely think that Marina is definitely deserving of that title shot as well. So, whatever Carla wants.”

Peña upset longtime women’s bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes at UFC 269 when she submitted the Brazilian in the second round. The two fighters coached opposite one another on the currently airing Season 30 of The Ultimate Fighter and are set to rematch at UFC 277 in July.

Want to stay up to date on all the latest Julianna Peña news? You can do so right here!

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Carla Esparza Dismisses ‘Classless’ Jéssica Andrade As A “Troll”

Carla Esparza knows she has a target on her back as the UFC’s strawweight champion, but she’s also not afraid to ignore the chatter of fighters looking for a chance at her belt. “The Cookie Monster” won the strawweight title from Rose Namajunas via split-decision at UFC 274 last May. It wasn’t the most dominant…

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Carla Esparza knows she has a target on her back as the UFC’s strawweight champion, but she’s also not afraid to ignore the chatter of fighters looking for a chance at her belt.

“The Cookie Monster” won the strawweight title from Rose Namajunas via split-decision at UFC 274 last May. It wasn’t the most dominant performance or an especially exciting fight, but Esparza improved to 2-0 against Namajunas after first beating her in 2014 to become the UFC’s inaugural strawweight champion.

There’s no shortage of fighters looking to be Esparza’s first challenger, and former champion Jéssica Andrade has been particularly vocal about how unimpressed she was by Esparza’s win at UFC 274.

For her part, Esparza isn’t concerned with what Andrade has to say and hasn’t been too thrilled by their previous interactions.

“I think she’s trying to just shoot her shot and trying to get an opportunity at the title again,” Esparza told MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn. “For me, not to be rude or whatever, but she was super rude to me, so I just view her as a troll and I just blocked her. I’m not gonna engage with her because to me she’s just annoying. I think she’s not the classiest of fighters. I just don’t want to deal with her.”

Andrade most recently submitted Amanda Lemos last April. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Andrade defeated Rose Namajunas in 2019 to claim the UFC’s strawweight belt but lost the title to Zhang Weili in her next fight. The UFC’s #6-ranked strawweight is currently on a two-fight win streak after first-round stoppages of Cynthia Calvillo and Amanda Lemos.

While there’s no opponent or date set for Esparza’s first title defense, former champion Zhang appears the likely first challenger after her spinning back fist knockout of Joanna J?drzejczyk at UFC 275.

What’s your reaction to Esparza referring to Andrade as a “troll” and choosing to ignore her comments?

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