Carla Esparza Clinches Title In Uneventful Rematch With Rose Namajunas – UFC 274 Highlights
Inaugural UFC and Invicta FC strawweight champion, Carla Esparza mints herself as the new undisputed strawweight champion, defeating Rose Namajunas with a split decision victory, albeit, in one of the most forgettable fights in the history of the organization.
Co-headlining UFC 274, Namajunas, who had previously suffered a submission loss to Esparza in the inaugural strawweight title fight in December 2014, failed to land really anything significant over the course of five entire rounds against Esparza — who managed to force the champion to fight from the outside, and at least force some activity as she engaged in takedown attempts on multiple occasions.
During her time in between rounds, amid the ongoing boos and jeers, Namajunas was urged to continue with her cautious approach by her partner and corner person, Pat Barry — who explained that his student was doing everything right, resulting in the slew of boos from the Footprint Center attendees.
Managing to become a two-time undisputed strawweight champion, Team Oyama staple, Carla Esparza explained that she could only press and force as much action as possible given the lack of activity and counters to work with from Namajunas.