Carla Esparza was widely booed by Mexican fans at UFC Fight Night 159 after winning a closely fought decision over hometown hero Alexa Grasso on Saturday night in Mexico City.
However, things got worse for the former strawweight champion as she had a drink poured over her by one fan as she made her way back to the dressing room.
“I understand the Mexican fans are so passionate, and they really stand behind their fighters,” said backstage after the fight. “I’ve definitely fought in a lot of people’s hometowns, and this was definitely the most passionate crowd I’ve ever been in front of. The sad thing was, there were a couple of bad seeds in the crowd. I was walking out and someone poured beer on me. It made me really sad, because people win and lose, but you can’t control the judges. I felt that I fairly won the fight. It was just really sad for me.”
Jeremy Stephens experienced even more rough treatment from the fans after he was left unable to continue after an eyepoke just 15 seconds into his main event encounter with Yair Rodriguez.
Stephens had to be escorted out of the Octagon under a hail of drinks, icecubes and anything else fans could get their hands on, and Esparza feels that was completely out of order.
“I hate that type of behavior,” Esparza said. “This is a sport. We all go out there and we give it our all. We work so hard to lead up to these fights. I wish some of those fans — obviously, that’s not everyone here — but I wish those people would have more respect.”
