Tag: Carla Esparza

Marina Rodriguez Promises Not To Bore Fans If Given “Fair” Title Shot

Marina Rodriguez wants to avenge the only loss of her career and win the UFC strawweight title in the process. The UFC’s #3-ranked strawweight contender made her case to challenge recently crowned champion Carla Esparza during an interview with Combate. “I’m the strawweight with the longest win streak in the division, so I think it’s…

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Marina Rodriguez wants to avenge the only loss of her career and win the UFC strawweight title in the process.

The UFC’s #3-ranked strawweight contender made her case to challenge recently crowned champion Carla Esparza during an interview with Combate.

“I’m the strawweight with the longest win streak in the division, so I think it’s only fair for me to be the next challenger,” Rodriguez said. “All the other athletes in the mix have had their chances already.

“I believe it’s time to shake things up and give other athletes a chance. The fans like new blood fighting for the belt. Whoever gets this chance for the first time will try to show fans how important this is to them. I’m sure they’ll deliver a fun, aggressive fight and that they’ll leave all they’ve got in the Octagon in order to win the belt.”

In addition to her win streak, Rodriguez does have a case regarding “new blood” challenging for the strawweight title.

(Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)

After defeating inaugural champion Esparza in 2015, Joanna J?drzejczyk made five strawweight title defenses against five different challengers. J?drzejczyk lost to Rose Namajunas in 2017, and only J?drzejczyk, Namajunas, Jéssica Andrade, and Zhang Weili either held or challenged for the title until Esparza reclaimed the belt at UFC 274 this year.

Esparza’s title fight against Rose Namajunas didn’t exactly set the MMA world on fire with its action, something Rodriguez seemed to be well aware of during her interview.

“If I have this chance, I’ll not let this fight be boring for a second. This is my chance to become champion of the world, I won’t let it pass me by. You have to give your life for it. I’m a UFC employee, though, so I follow their plans. If they think I should do one more fight before the belt, I will. I’m not counting on my next fight being for the belt.”

The 35-year-old Brazilian is currently on a four-fight win streak after Carla Esparza beat her by split decision in 2020. That was the only loss of Rodriguez’s MMA career, although her record does include two draws in the UFC against Randa Markos and Cynthia Calvillo.

Rodriguez most recently competed at UFC 272 and won a split decision over Yan Xiaonan.

Do you think that Marina Rodriguez deserves the next strawweight title shot?

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J?drzejczyk: UFC’s SW Division Shows Anything’s Possible In MMA

Former UFC strawweight champion Joanna J?drzejczyk thinks the recent fights in the division show that a path back to the title is still possible for her. J?drzejczyk is set to make her Octagon return in a rematch against Zhang Weili at UFC 275. This marks her first fight in the UFC since her first fight…

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Former UFC strawweight champion Joanna J?drzejczyk thinks the recent fights in the division show that a path back to the title is still possible for her.

J?drzejczyk is set to make her Octagon return in a rematch against Zhang Weili at UFC 275. This marks her first fight in the UFC since her first fight with Weili at UFC 248 in early 2020.

While J?drzejczyk has had a long layoff from competition, she’s been keeping a close eye on how things have played out in the strawweight division. She’s also recently teased the various improvements she’s made during her two-year hiatus.

During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, J?drzejczyk pointed to the recent Rose Namajunas/Carla Esparza UFC 274 rematch as an example of how wild the 115lb division is.

“This fight, the fight between Rose and Carla, showed how unpredictable this sport and crazy this sport is,” J?drzejczyk said. “I beat Carla, then Carla beat Rose, I beat Carla and then Andrade beats Rose… how crazy it is? So anything and everything is possible, and yeah it’s happening. I’m so pumped, I’m so motivated… I’ve been training so hard… I went home to Poland only for eight days, I’ve been working so hard and preparing for this moment.

“This is what drives me into [fighting], but I’m supposed to cut some of the training sessions because I’ve been training 13 times a week every day since I got here,” Jedrzejczyk continued. “But after [the Rose/Carla fight], I don’t wanna stop. I can’t stop, I won’t stop, I want to do more. Because everything is [in my head, and in my heart] and how hard we believe in our dreams and in ourselves.”

Another development in the division is the return of Andrade, who recently defeated rising contender Amanda Lemos following a stint at flyweight. Andrade, along with J?drzejczyk and Weili, remains a massive part of the strawweight title picture.

Esparza defeated Namajunas in the UFC 274 co-headliner to regain the strawweight throne. She lost her title to J?drzejczyk at UFC 185 after earning the then-vacant title against Namajunas on The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale.

J?drzejczyk still has ambitions of regaining the strawweight title and will look to remind the rest of the division of her greatness in her return at UFC 275.

What is your reaction to Joanna J?drzejczyk’s comments? Do you think she can become the UFC strawweight champion once again?

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Esparza: I Was In Disbelief At How Namajunas Rematch Was Going

Carla Esparza couldn’t believe the way her fight with Rose Namajumas went. There is a new champion in town and her name is Carla Esparza. Esparza, although newly crowned, isn’t exactly new to the champ game. She was the first-ever UFC strawweight champion when she defeated Rose Namajunas for the first time on The Ultimate…

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Carla Esparza couldn’t believe the way her fight with Rose Namajumas went.

There is a new champion in town and her name is Carla Esparza. Esparza, although newly crowned, isn’t exactly new to the champ game. She was the first-ever UFC strawweight champion when she defeated Rose Namajunas for the first time on The Ultimate Fighter Finale.

Now eight years later, she has done it again but was a bit surprised at how the rematch went.

“As far as the fight goes, like, when I was in the fight, I was like, ‘Is this really happening?’ After each round I was almost like, in a lot of disbelief,” she explained to MMA Fighting. “But as far as after the fight goes, just to hear how bummed she was.

“I’ve been there. You know, you can’t get to this level in the sport and not have felt those tough losses and gotten crap from fans. I definitely feel her pain, especially having been in there. I wanted us to have a great fight. I was like, ‘Man, I hope we get Fight of the Night,’ and it was by far the opposite.”

The fight was ruled a split decision with Esparza on top after five rounds. In the wake of the event, there has been criticism coming from fans.

The fight has widely been called boring and in fact, UFC President Dana White was even caught watching another fight on a monitor during the fight.

It is unclear if there will be a trilogy fight between these two, as White has mentioned there may not be interest in it. In any case, Esparza has turned her attention to her next possible opponent: Joanna J?drzejczyk.

What did you think of Namajanuas vs. Esparza 2?

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Godinez: Outside Factors May Have Led To Rose/Esparza II Performances

UFC strawweight contender Loopy Godinez thinks there could be more to the story as to why Rose Namajunas/Carla Esparza 2 was lackluster. Esparza defeated Namajunas via split decision in the UFC 274 co-headliner. It was an odd fight from start to finish with very little output from both women. Namajunas, in particular, has come under…

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UFC strawweight contender Loopy Godinez thinks there could be more to the story as to why Rose Namajunas/Carla Esparza 2 was lackluster.

Esparza defeated Namajunas via split decision in the UFC 274 co-headliner. It was an odd fight from start to finish with very little output from both women.

Namajunas, in particular, has come under harsh criticism from many in the UFC community, including Daniel Cormier. But Godinez thinks most don’t understand what goes on behind the scenes leading up to a fight.

During an exclusive interview with MMA News, Godinez gave her thoughts on how Namajunas vs. Esparza 2 played out.

“I think we don’t know what either one of those fighters have been going through,” Godinez said. “You don’t know what’s happening in their lives. Because other than just fighters, we have our life too. So sometimes, stuff happens in life that will make us not perform in the cage. Maybe some people are stronger than others, some people can deal with things differently. But we don’t know what they’ve been through. Maybe that’s why they couldn’t pull the trigger. There are a million reasons. We don’t know.

“They only know, so now why do we need to be hard on them? They’re still human beings. They still have problems in life, so I have nothing to say, it just is what it is. It sucks it went that way, but you move forward.”

Namajunas has been honest and open regarding her mental health over the years, but it’s unclear if this had an impact on her rematch with Esparza. She fell to Esparza for the then-vacant strawweight title on The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale.

Godinez could be on the verge of title contention by the end of 2022, and she believes that both Namajunas and Esparza should be treated as the current and former champions they are.

Do you agree with Loopy Godinez?

Continue Reading Godinez: Outside Factors May Have Led To Rose/Esparza II Performances at MMA News.

Esparza Accuses UFC 274 Commentary Team Of Bias During Title Fight

Newly crowned UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza has a bone to pick with the UFC 274 commentary team. Last Saturday night, Esparza joined the two-time champions’ club with a split decision victory over the same woman whom she defeated to hold the inaugural gold in 2014, Namajunas. While her feat, which saw her break…

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Newly crowned UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza has a bone to pick with the UFC 274 commentary team.

Last Saturday night, Esparza joined the two-time champions’ club with a split decision victory over the same woman whom she defeated to hold the inaugural gold in 2014, Namajunas.

While her feat, which saw her break the record for the longest period between title wins, was impressive, the way in which she dethroned “Thug Rose” certainly left a lot to be desired, with many branding the UFC 274 co-main event as the worst championship contest in UFC history.

Given the way that the fight unfolded and the remarkable lack of action, it’s unsurprising that the pair of top strawweights received criticism from the broadcast team throughout the 25-minute fight.

However, while Daniel Cormier admitted that he expected the pair to be “pissed off” at how the fight was called, the reason for Esparza’s disdain will likely come as a surprise to the former champ-champ.

During an appearance on The MMA Hour, the new 115-pound queen suggested that Cormier, Jon Anik, and Joe Rogan’s work at the desk was directed in favor of Namajunas, especially in the early rounds.

“To be honest, I thought that the commentary, especially early on in the fight, was — it was a combination of a little bit of bias on the side for Rose, but I also felt like they were being kinda real on a lot of notes, just about the fight in general, kinda talking crap on it,” said Esparza. “It sucks to hear, but I kinda knew that was what people were thinking during the fight.

“But I definitely feel like commentators can tend to be one-sided sometimes, and I felt like that was the case, especially earlier in the fight,” concluded Esparza.

While calls of bias are certainly nothing new for the UFC commentary team, with even UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski accusing them of such last year, it’s perhaps surprising that Esparza feels it was evident during a fight where not much good was said about either competitor.

Do you agree with Carla Esparza? Were the UFC 274 commentators showing bias towards Rose Namajunas?

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Carla Esparza: Fan Reaction Takes Away From My Crowning Achievement

Carla Esparza believes that the fan reaction to her UFC 274 fight is taking away from her crowning achievement. Esparza was one-half of what some are calling the most boring title fight in UFC history at UFC 274. She faced Rose Namajunas, who was putting her 115-pound title on the line. Neither woman was very…

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Carla Esparza believes that the fan reaction to her UFC 274 fight is taking away from her crowning achievement.

Esparza was one-half of what some are calling the most boring title fight in UFC history at UFC 274. She faced Rose Namajunas, who was putting her 115-pound title on the line. Neither woman was very willing to engage in action or press forward. However, Esparza did get a few takedowns, which ultimately won her the fight.

A new champion was crowned via split decision, and Esparza, who was the inaugural 115-pound champion back in 2014, regained the crown.

However, speaking on The MMA Hour this week, Esparza feels the negative fan reaction towards the fight is taking away from the crowning moment.

“I felt the criticism during the fight. I mean, there was boos and the fans weren’t happy with the fight, I knew that. And it’s a bummer… this had the potential to be a great fight; it was such a great story going into it.

Carla Esparza Rose Namajunas May
Carla Esparza, Rose Namajunas, 2014

“After so many years, I feel like it’s a huge accomplishment to come back, for me, eight years after winning the belt, and having some lows and some highs in the game, and coming back and winning this.

“For me, it’s just such a crowning achievement. I feel like it’s taken a bit away from it, the fan reaction. And I don’t blame the fans for not being happy about the fight. It’s just a bummer that things went down that way.”

Esparza has had a tremendous run going on her path back to the title. Her last loss came in September of 2018 to Tatiana Suarez when she was finished in the third round. Since, she has racked up six-straight wins, her latest being the title victory over Namajunas.

It will be interesting to see if the UFC grants Namajunas an immediate rematch for the title. However, given how poorly their matchup played out this past weekend, it’s highly unlikely.

What do you make of Carla Esparza saying the fan reaction ruins her crowning achievement of recapturing the title?

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