UFC 281: Carla Esparza hopes to make a statement against Zhang Weili following criticism of title win
Carla Esparza reacts after her victory over Rose Namajunas (not pictured) in their women’s strawweight championship bout during UFC 274 at Footprint Center on May 07, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona. Credit: Getty Images/Christian Petersen
Carla Esparza heard all the boos and the chiding and the derision coming her way as she stood in the cage against Rose Namajunas this past May.
All the more reason now to prove herself a worthy champion.
“One fight doesn’t define a fighter,” Esparza told Newsday. “I’ve had a career of many exciting fights and I’m going to bring it in this next one.”
Esparza (19-6) won her second UFC strawweight belt against Namajunas in one of the least gripping title fights the company has ever promoted. Despite that, she’ll be on her biggest stage yet on Nov. 12, taking the cage inside Madison Square Garden to defend her title against Zhang Weili (22-3) in the co-main event at UFC 281.
Tickets for the event, headlined by a middleweight championship between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira, went on sale Friday.
Esparza, 34, earned a split decision win over Namajunas last time out in a bout with just 68 combined strikes landed, the lowest ever in a five-round UFC contest.
"There was definitely a lot of criticism of our fight and it being boring or whatever from the fans, you know,” Esparza said. “Even fans that are positive were like, 'well, I mean, it wasn't the most exciting but you did what you had to do,’ so I'm ready to make a statement in this next fight."
Regardless of outside reaction, Esparza’s win was remarkable. The former collegiate wrestler became the UFC’s first strawweight champion in December 2014, also beating Namajunas, but immediately lost the belt to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in March 2015. After an up-and-down stretch, Esparza strung together a five-fight win streak beginning in 2019 to earn a shot at the title. Her sixth consecutive win brought her UFC career full circle, and no amount of criticism could dampen Esparza’s pride in recapturing glory, and legitimizing her career, more than seven years later.
"I think the first title holds a place in my heart just because it was making history and I never thought that women would be in the UFC when I started, but winning it again right now, it just goes to show that the division has evolved so much,” Esparza said. “I think a lot of people maybe criticized me and thought it was maybe a fluke or because the weight class was so young at the time, kind of taking away from my win. Being at the top of the division right now means a lot knowing it has evolved.”
Now comes a new challenge Esparza says always has been high on her list — successfully defending her championship. The Californian also was the first Invicta FC strawweight title, but relinquished her belt to join the UFC, and her defeat to Jedrzejczyk still looms large.
Esparza faces a tough challenge against Zhang, herself a former UFC champion with two previous wins over Jedrzejczyk, and an opponent she says she agreed to meet in 2020. But the fight also an opportunity, both to prove she deserves a long title reign, and perhaps a chance to keep the boos at bay.
"I've been down to fight her for forever, I've always had a lot of respect for her skills. So for me, it's going to be a great challenge and I'm excited to put myself to the test,” Esparza said. “She seems very strong, great striking, her grappling is just improving every fight. I think it's going to be a fight that I have to be very well prepared for.”
Ryan Gerbosi is an internet news manager for sports at Newsday.com. He also covers NYCFC and mixed martial arts and believes the designated hitter should be banned from baseball.
