Carla Esparza vs Rose Namajunas turned out to be the least eventful fight at UFC 274. The two strawweights spent the title fight circling one another and throwing feints. Ultimately, the judges deemed that the challenger, Esparza, did enough to earn victory and the strawweight title, admittedly to a chorus of boos from the assembled crowd. Esparza elaborated on the snoozefest at the post-fight press conference.
“That’s always a bummer. You always want to put on a show for the fans, so it’s unfortunate to be a part of a fight like that.
New Strawweight Champ Carla Esparza: “It’s hard to fight someone that doesn’t want to fight”
But I felt that I was putting the pressure on, I was coming forward, I was the aggressor, I was holding on to the center of the octagon, so at the end of the day, I did what I could, and I tried to fight my fight, but fights go like that sometimes.”
Esparza’s wrestling is her greatest asset, while Rose Namajunas boasts some of the cleanest, most lethal striking in women’s MMA. Esparza bided her time, and was extremely careful throughout the fight lest she be caught overcomitting to a shot and finding herself on a highlight reel. “I felt that I fought a smart game plan.
I felt that if I would have gotten too wild and too reckless, I would have set myself up to be a highlight reel. Rose has incredible timing and placement on her strikes. She’s had some awesome head-kicks finishes and dropped people, so I didn’t feel like it was a smart person to get reckless with.”
Although Rose herself disagrees, Carla clearly feels that she earned the victory fair and square.
“I don’t feel that Rose pushed the pace. As a champion, you really need to go after it, and [say], ‘This is my octagon.’ I don’t really feel that she was aggressive enough to say, ‘Hey, this was my win,’ so at the end of the day, I got the belt, and if she wants a rematch, I’m down for that, too.
I really want to set it in the eyes of the judges. I hate to say it this way, but it’s hard to fight someone that doesn’t want to fight.”
In the end, neither party truly committed to the fight, with the crowd audibly booing over the course of the five rounds.
Do you think the judges were right this time? Did Rose simply not turn up for UFC 274? Let us know in the comments.
