Carla Esparza: Rematch With Joanna Jedrzejczyk Would Be ‘Much Different Fight’

Former women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza still holds hopes of getting another title shot. And she would welcome a rematch with Joanna Jedrzejczyk if that’s what would take her there.

Esparza returned to the win column with a unanimous decision win over Virna Jandiroba at UFC Fort Lauderdale over the weekend.

Coming off a two-fight losing streak, the 31-year-old knows she will have to string a lot more wins if she wants another crack at regaining her belt.

If Jedrzejczyk were to come in her way, Esparza would be open to a rematch and believes it will go much differently than the first time.

Esparza, of course, was the first UFC women’s strawweight champion after defeating current champion Rose Namajunas in December 2014. She would lose her belt a few months later after being knocked out by Jedrzejczyk.

“Honestly, I’ve thought about that a lot since the fight happened,” Esparza told MMA Junkie. “Not to take anything away from her win, but I really wasn’t in the best place.

“I think she’s gotten better, I’ve gotten better, and I would definitely be welcomed to that fight again. No matter what happens in that fight, it would be a much different fight than it was the first time.”

Since that first meeting, Esparza has gone 4-3 while Jedrzejczyk has gone 6-3, with three of those losses coming in her last four fights.

However, those losses came to Namajunas twice and against Valentina Shevchenko in their women’s flyweight fight for the vacant title back in December.

How do you see a potential rematch going?