After successfully defeating Weili Zhang for a second time, UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas is now turning her attention to avenging an old loss to Carla Esparza next.
“It’s the only one that makes sense,” Namajunas MMA Junkie. “I can fight anybody, but nothing really interests me other than Carla.”
The two previously fought for the title at the very beginning of the strawweight division, and on that occasion it was Esparza who emerged victorious by way of a third round submission finish.
Esparza then lost the belt to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in her next fight, but she’s continued to compile a solid record in the years since and is currently on a five-fight winning streak that’s taken her to the No.2 contender spot in the division.
However, Esparza’s decision to turn down a fight with Mackenzie Dern recently in order to wait for a title shot opportunity has apparently put her at odds with Dana White, who is believed to be against giving her that opportunity for the time being, but Namajunas feels that he needs to put his issues to one side and make the fight happen.
“I think it’s probably maybe because she’s a wrestler or something,” said Namajunas. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s hard for them to get behind her, but I don’t know what it is, really. I do think she was sitting out and waiting for the title shot and that wasn’t the best move, but honestly I think it just makes sense. Make it happen.”
It remains to be seen whether the UFC brass agrees, but Esparza has made it clear that she’s definitely ready for the rematch.
“The fight Rose wants. The fight I want. The fight the fans want. Simple. Make it happen @ufc 👊🏽 #rematch #runitback,” Esparza wrote.
