Carla Esparza News
Pros react after Weili Zhang subs Carla Esparza at UFC 281
Chris Taylor - November 12, 2022
Tonight’s UFC 281 event was co-headlined by a women’s strawweight title fight featuring Carla Esparza taking on Weili Zhang. Esparza (19-7 MMA) had recaptured the 115lbs title at May’s UFC 274 event, scoring a split-decision win over Rose Namajunas. That victory served as ‘The Cookie Monster’s’ sixth in a row, a streak which included wins over Yan Xiaonan, Marina Rodriguez, Michelle Waterson and Alexa Grasso.
UFC 281 Results: Weili Zhang stops Carla Esparza in Round 2 (Video)
Chris Taylor - November 12, 2022
Tonight’s UFC 281 event is co-headlined by a women’s strawweight title fight featuring Carla Esparza taking on Weili Zhang. Esparza (19-7 MMA) recaptured the 115lbs title at May’s UFC 274 event, scoring a split-decision win over Rose Namajunas. That victory served as ‘The Cookie Monster’s’ sixth in a row, a streak which has seen her defeat the likes of Yan Xiaonan, Marina Rodriguez, Michelle Waterson and Alexa Grasso.
UFC 281: 'Adesanya vs. Pereira' Live Results and Highlights
Chris Taylor - November 12, 2022
The Octagon returns to New York for tonight’s UFC 281 event, a fourteen-bout fight card headlined by Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira. Adesanya (23-1 MMA) and Pereira (6-1 MMA) of course have a history, with ‘Poatan’ having defeated ‘Stylebender’ on two occasions in the Glory kickboxing ring.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk comes to Carla Esparza's defense after fans booed her at UFC 281 presser: "She deserves respect"
Josh Evanoff - November 11, 2022
Joanna Jedrzejczyk has come to the defense of UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza. ‘Cookie Monster’ is set to return to action this Saturday at UFC 281 against Weili Zhang. ‘Magnum’ is fresh off her knockout win over the former Polish champion in June. Heading into the title fight this Saturday, Zhang is a massive betting favorite.
Strawweight champion Carla Esparza booed at UFC 281 presser in New York (Video)
Andrew Whitelaw - November 9, 2022
Carla Esparza was given a harsh reception from the New York crowd at the UFC 281 pre-fight presser. Boos rang out in the Big Apple a the 115lb champ talked about having ‘unfinished business’ heading into her co-main event clash with Zhang Weili. The American became the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight champion when she beat Rose Namajunas to win the belt in 2014. But she failed to defend it after getting knocked out by Joanna Jędrzejczyk in her first title defence.
Carla Esparza relishing in underdog role ahead of UFC 281 title defense against Weili Zhang: "It’s always great to win, but to silence all the doubters"
Josh Evanoff - November 8, 2022
UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza is happy to be the underdog this weekend. ‘Cookie Monster’ is set to return for the first time since her controversial win over Rose Namajunas in May. While their first outing eight years prior was a dominant win for Esparza, the second encounter wasn’t.
Rose Namajunas hopes for trilogy with Carla Esparza, but admits there isn't much fan interest: "I don’t know if I’d want to subject the fans to that"
Josh Evanoff - November 3, 2022
Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas is back on the hunt for gold. ‘Thug Rose’ has been out of action since her rematch with Carla Esparza in May. Their first encounter eight years prior was one-sided traffic. Esparza dominated and won by submission to become the first UFC women’s strawweight champion.
Weili Zhang prepared to fight fearlessly against Carla Esparaza at UFC 281: "I don't care about win or lose anymore"
Josh Evanoff - August 30, 2022
UFC women’s strawweight contender Weili Zhang is prepared for her fight with Carla Esparza. ‘Magnum’ has been out of action since June. At UFC 275, Zhang faced Joanna Jędrzejczyk in a rematch of their famous brawl in March 2020. In that outing, the Chinese fighter won by split decision after five rounds of pure chaos.
Carla Esparza set to defend her strawweight title against Weili Zhang at UFC 281
Susan Cox - August 18, 2022
Carla Esparza in set to defend her strawweight title against Weili Zhang at UFC 281. Esparaza took to ‘Twitter‘ this morning announcing the bout:
Jessica Andrade claims UFC champion Carla Esparza blocked her on social media after she requested a fight
Harry Kettle - July 14, 2022
Jessica Andrade has claimed Carla Esparza blocked her on social media after she asked to fight her for the title. While she may be moving back up to flyweight for a showdown with Manon Fiorot at UFC Paris, Jessica Andrade still very much has her eyes on the prize at strawweight – the division in which she won her first world title in the UFC.
Carla Esparza gives injury update, confirms she'll fight by end of 2022
Josh Evanoff - July 8, 2022
UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza will be in the octagon by the end of the year. ‘Cookie Monster’ faced off against Rose Namajunas at UFC 274 in May. It was a rematch of their showdown in December 2014, where Esparza won via submission. At UFC 274, the latter moved to 2-0 in the series, as she defeated ‘Thug Rose’ by a split decision.
Carla Esparza not surprised by Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s retirement, says she “would’ve loved” a rematch
Harry Kettle - June 29, 2022
UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza has admitted she would’ve liked the chance to have a rematch against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. While the way in which Carla Esparza became a two-time UFC champion was somewhat strange, there was nothing odd about how she submitted Rose Namajunas in 2014 to win the gold the first time around. Alas, her joy didn’t last long as just three months later, she was beaten by Joanna Jedrzejczyk as the Polish sensation went on to become one of the all-time greats in the division.
Daniel Cormier gives take on Carla Esparza vs. Weili Zhang: "She might be the biggest challenger favorite ever"
Josh Evanoff - June 15, 2022
Daniel Cormier believes that UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza will be a massive underdog to Weili Zhang. ‘Cookie Monster’ re-captured the UFC’s strawweight title following a win over Rose Namajunas last month. The win saw her move her win-streak to six, and become champion for the first time since 2015. However, her win over ‘Thug Rose’ was also blasted as one of the worst fights in UFC history.
Carla Esparza rejects the idea of fighting Weili Zhang at UFC 281: “She needs to go on my timeline”
Susan Cox - June 14, 2022
Carla Esparza is rejecting the idea of fighting Weili Zhang at UFC 281. UFC 281 is scheduled for Saturday October 22nd at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk shares her prediction for Carla Esparza vs. Weili Zhang
Harry Kettle - June 13, 2022
Joanna Jedrzejczyk has given her thoughts on what will happen when Weili Zhang challenges Carla Esparza for the UFC strawweight title. Last Saturday night at UFC 275, Joanna Jedrzejczyk retired from mixed martial arts following her knockout defeat at the hands of Weili Zhang. The two put on a thoroughly entertaining rematch in Singapore and while Jedrzejczyk had a few nice moments, the evening belonged to Zhang as a spinning back fist was enough to put a definitive end to their rivalry.
Zhang Weili explains her idea for a UFC Strawweight Title fight against Carla Esparza
Fernando Quiles - June 12, 2022
Zhang Weili has an interesting idea for a UFC Strawweight Title fight against champion Carla Esparza. Zhang made it clear that she’s still an elite 115-pounder at UFC 275. She silenced the doubters by knocking Joanna Jedrzejczyk out cold with a spinning backfist in Singapore.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk sends a warning to newly crowned UFC champion Carla Esparza: “History likes to make a circle and I’m soon to be champ”
Harry Kettle - May 11, 2022
Joanna Jedrzejczyk has sent a warning to Carla Esparza following the latter’s win over Rose Namajunas at UFC 274. Next month at UFC 275, Joanna Jedrzejczyk will run it back with Zhang Weili as they square off in a number one contender match-up at strawweight. The victor is expected to go on and challenge for the belt later this year, and after UFC 274, we now know that Carla Esparza is the champion they’d be facing.
Henry Cejudo calls 'Namajunas vs. Esparza 2' the worst fight in UFC history: "Rose you just don't deserve a rematch"
Christopher Taylor - May 9, 2022
Henry Cejudo has dubbed last weekend’s Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza rematch as the worst fight in UFC history. Namajunas (11-5 MMA) put her strawweight on the line against Esparza (19-6 MMA) in the co-headliner of last Saturday’s UFC 274 event in Phoenix. The bout served as a rematch as the pair had previously met back in December of 2014, where it was ‘Cookie Monster’ who came out the victor by way of submission to capture the promotions inaugural strawweight world title.