Carla Esparza believes her next fight should be for the UFC strawweight title.
Considering her current five-fight winning streak, the former champion believes she has done enough to warrant a title shot. Esparza (18-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) turned in a dominant second-round TKO finish of Yan Xiaonan on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 188.
“In my opinion, that’s the only thing that makes sense,” Esparza told MMA Junkie Radio about a potential title shot. “That’s the fight to make. I’m hoping, especially with the way the fight went down, it was such a dominant performance, that it’s hands down going to be my fight. It should be my fight.”
Esparza’s finish of Xiaonan was her first stoppage win since 2014, when she became the inaugural strawweight champ by submitting current champion Rose Namajunas. Since dropping her title in 2015, Esparza has been putting in the work over the years to grow as a fighter while navigating her way through the division.
“We’re both very different fighters than we were the first time we fought,” Esparza said. “I wouldn’t say completely different, but we’re definitely a lot sharper and have added a lot of tools to our arsenal.”
The more things change, the more Esparza hopes they stay the same, considering she defeated Namajunas the first time around. Since both have improved as fighters, she believes fans will enjoy their second meeting as well.
“I think it would be a more exciting fight because it would be an even higher level fight than it was at the time,” Esparza said. “You have two people who have improved over seven years and come a long way.”
Esparza currently holds the longest winning streak among the top five strawweights in the UFC’s official rankings.
Carla Esparza: ‘Only thing that makes sense’ is Rose Namajunas UFC title fight