Carla Esparza may be diminutive in stature, but following her dominant performance at UFC Vegas 27, her wallet sure isn’t!
Carla’s first finish since 2014 came through a concrete ground-and-pound game. Take Yan Xionan down to the canvas, control from the top, and unleash blunt force trauma through fists and elbows. It only took two rounds of this domination for the referee to call a stop to the fight and declare Esparza the victor by TKO.
Carla Esparza’s HUGE UFC Vegas payday
Esparza not only handed Yan Xionan her first loss in the UFC, but did so in a manner that made her look like an amateur. Xionan displayed minimal grappling ability and virtually no takedown defence.
Rather than turning into her opponent, creating distance, or attempting to escape Esparza’s brutal assault on Xionan’s cranium, Xionan adopted a “lay and pray” approach, exhausting herself by pulling the Brazilian into her while flat on her back. The spray of blood across Xionan’s face following the fight is evidence enough that in modern MMA, even seasoned strikers with knockout ability must be well-rounded and capable of engaging on the ground.
Esparza’s ground game and superior striking were on full display from the first minute of the fight, and the Brazilian no doubt hopes such a performance will serve as the launching pad for a title fight against Rose Namajunas.
Namajunas reclaimed her 115-pound title against Zhang Weili via a first-round head kick on the undercard for Usman v Masvidal 2. The stylistic matchup of Namajunas, whose striking is among the cleanest and crispest in the division, and the cold, clinical ground control displayed by Esparza is intriguing to fans. However, it is by no means the only takeaway from the fight for Esparza.
In a year dominated by discussions of fighter pay, where Tony Ferguson advocated for a greater bonus for all fighters at last week’s bout, fight of the night bonuses are a valuable thing. Esparza’s blistering show of strength against Xionan garnered her an extra $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
These bonuses are, in theory, meant to incentivise the kind of exciting, white-knuckle fights we saw at UFC 262, where fighters motivated by higher wages pursue highlight reel-worthy finishes.
At the other end of the weight spectrum, Jared Vanderaa and Justin Tafa earned their own $50,000 Fight of the Night bonuses following a vicious heavyweight bout. Vanderaa won by unanimous decision, although the sheer fact that the fight went the distance rather than ending in a knockout for either 260-pound behemoth is truly impressive.
Do you think Esparza will take the next shot at Rose Namajunas’ title, or is a rematch with Zhang Weili more likely? Should fighter bonuses be increased to encourage more performances like these? Let us know in the comments below.
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