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Carla Esparza is thrilled to be a UFC strawweight champion once more, even when her second win over Rose Namajunas got here after probably the most lackluster title fights within the promotion’s historical past.
“That’s at all times a bummer,” Esparza mentioned on the post-fight press convention for UFC 274, the place she gained a cut up resolution over Namajunas with a refrain of boos accompanying the choice at Footprint Middle in Phoenix. “You at all times need to placed on a present for the followers, so it’s unlucky to be part of a battle like that.
“However I felt that I used to be placing the stress on, I used to be coming ahead, I used to be the aggressor, I used to be holding on to the middle of the octagon, so on the finish of the day, I did what I might, and I attempted to battle my battle, however fights go like that typically.”
Esparza was barely shocked that Namajunas didn’t have interaction extra aggressively, however she attributed that to the specter of her takedown, which from the beginning had been her path to victory within the eyes of most MMA observers. When the battle failed to choose up, she didn’t really feel overly pressured to alter what she was doing – her coaches instructed her she was heading in the right direction.
“I felt that I fought a sensible sport plan,” Esparza mentioned. “I felt that if I might have gotten too wild and too reckless, I might have set myself as much as be a spotlight reel. Rose has unimaginable timing and placement on her strikes. She’s had some superior head-kicks finishes and dropped individuals, so I didn’t really feel prefer it was a sensible particular person to get reckless with.”
Because it turned out, Namajunas’ coaches had given the identical encouragement, and when the official resolution was learn, the deposed two-time champ reacted in shock. Later, she was nonetheless making an attempt to understand how she misplaced the battle.
However from Esparza’s perspective, there was a easy clarification.
“I don’t really feel that Rose pushed the tempo,” she mentioned. “As a champion, you really want to go after it, and [say], ‘That is my octagon.’ I don’t actually really feel that she was aggressive sufficient to say, ‘Hey, this was my win,’ so on the finish of the day, I received the belt, and if she needs a rematch, I’m down for that, too.”
The prospect of a trilogy between the strawweights seems fairly dim after their second displaying. Extra seemingly for Esparza’s subsequent transfer is a gathering with the winner of a gathering between ex-champs Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili at UFC 275. Esparza, who misplaced the belt to Jedrzejczyk seven years in the past in her first title protection, additionally welcomed a rematch with Marina Rodriguez.
The latter towards Rodriguez was one other nail-biter on the scorecards with the media cut up over the winner. Headed into the championship rounds, Esparza mentioned she tried to place a stamp on her efficiency – she simply didn’t have a cooperative associate.
“I actually need to set it within the eyes of the judges,” she mentioned. “I hate to say it this fashion, however, it’s onerous to battle somebody that doesn’t need to battle.”
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