When it was all said and done, Esparza (19-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) defeated Namajunas (11-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) for the second time in an uneventful bout that left the judges split on who won the evening’s co-main event at Footprint Center. Rose Namajunas looked to avenge a prior loss to Esparza in the first strawweight title in the promotion’s history. Watch Namajunas’ full UFC Paris scrum above.PHOENIX – The first of two championship bouts at UFC 274 was not the most exciting fight, but the strawweight division has a new champion.Ĭarla Esparza entered Saturday’s contest with the goal of reclaiming the title she once held. But I’m not looking too far ahead, I’m just kind of in the moment.” That would definitely be a dream come true, like I said, that was in my goals. “I just hope and pray that God uses me in a way that I can glorify Him and hopefully I put on a good performance and that I can inspire people and hopefully everything else just kind of takes care of itself. “No expectations,” Namajunas said when asked if she will be due a title shot after UFC Paris. 16 title clash between champion Alexa Grasso and former champion Valentina Shevchenko.įor now, Namajunas is focused solely on Fiorot and she’s happy to let others do the contender talk for her. A win would vault Namajunas up the flyweight rankings and potentially make her the No. Namajunas seeks a fresh start in a new division on Saturday when she moves up to 125 pounds to take on top contender Manon Fiorot. They’re just here to be inspired or to be entertained or to learn something and that’s my job as a martial artist is to go out there and do my job.” I just had to kind of get out of my feelings a little bit and realize that I might have things and challenges that I deal with, but that’s not anybody else’s business. “It did at first, but I kind of deserved it,” Namajunas said. She admitted that the harsh reception to a rare off-night initially bothered her. Prior to that disappointing performance, Namajunas had compiled a careers-worth of highlights with memorable finishes of Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk among others, and she has been part of several thrilling contests that went the distance. I was kind of in my feelings about it because I felt like there’s always this unspoken thing of ‘the challenger’s got to take it in order to get it’ but whatever, it’s my fault.” “Ultimately, that’s fair to say what they had to say because nothing really happened. “I don’t know, I guess being the fighter it feels a little different when somebody-because it’s not just a sport for me, it’s an art, so when somebody critiques your art you get a little emotional about it. “No, that was definitely one of the most boring fights ever,” Namajunas said Wednesday at media day for UFC Paris. Looking back, does Namajunas feel that the criticism was unfair? Namajunas and Esparza were universally lambasted for the listless contest, with fans, fighters, and even the fight night commentary team piling on. “Thug Rose” had her chance to avenge a 2014 loss to Carla Esparza, but after 25 minutes that saw neither fighter cover themselves in glory, Esparza eked out a split decision to again beat Namajunas for a belt. It’s been over 15 months since Namajunas’ second strawweight title reign ended in inauspicious fashion at UFC 274. Rose Namajunas doesn’t sugarcoat it when it comes to evaluating her most recent fight.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |