“It’s going down”- Carla Esparza looks forward to locking horns with former TUF foe Rose Namajunas

“It’s going down”- Carla Esparza looks forward to locking horns with former TUF foe Rose Namajunas

Carla Esparza(L), Rose Namajunas(R)

Dana White, though reluctant at the start of November to hand Carla Esparza a shot at the title, has confirmed that the current women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas will face Carla Esparza.

This is a rematch between the two who last faced each other back in 2014 for the strawweight belt at the TUF 20 Finale where Esparza submitted Rose at round 3 with a rear-naked choke.

At first, Dana wasn’t accepting of the idea of Carla vs Rose as he said in the press conference “You don’t sit around and wait for fights, it’s a really bad idea” when Carla had rejected the chance of fighting against Mackenzie Dern.

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‘Thug Rose’ replied to his comments saying, “It’s the only one that makes sense. I can fight anybody, but nothing really interests me other than Carla.”

Now both fighters’ wishes have been granted and it’s a fight that has been in the waiting for seven years. When White was asked what was next for Rose Namajunas, he kept it plain, and simple. “Carla Esparza. 100%.”

When was the last time Rose Namajunas faced Carla Esparza?

Carla Esparza(Top), Rose Namajunas(Bottom)
Carla Esparza(Top), Rose Namajunas(Bottom)

TUF 20 Finale took place inside ‘The Pearl’ at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada with No. 1 seed Carla Esparza fighting against No. 7 seed Rose Namajunas for the inaugural UFC strawweight title.

Esparza beat Angela Hill, Tecia Torres, and Jessica Penne to make the finale and Rose defeated Alex Chambers, Joanne Calderwood, and Randa Markos to book her place in the final round.

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Esparza took the win after submitting Rose via rear-naked choke at 1:26 of the third round. Esparza’s stunning and utterly dominating grappling was too much for Rose to handle which led to her flaws being exposed and she was completely overwhelmed by ‘The Cookie Monster’.

With the rematch being confirmed, fans are now in for a treat as a long-overdue fight finally comes to fruition.

Who will take the win? Will it be Rose Namajunas or Carla Esparza? We shall find out.

Also Read: “Nothing really interests me other than Carla,” champ Rose Namajunas wants to settle the score in a rematch against Carla Esparza