Joanna Jedrzejczyk Dismisses Talk Carla Esparza Should be Next For Rose Namajunas
By FCF Staff
On account of Carla Esparza’s five-fight winning streak, she, and others, have been calling for the fighter to get another shot at the UFC’s strawweight belt. But, former champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk has a different take on the situation.
Esparza extended her winning streak to five last weekend at UFC Vegas 28, by stopping Yan Xiaonan in the second round. After the fight, UFC President Dana White acknowledged that Esparza, or Weili Zhang, will probably be next for the champion Namajunas.
But, while discussing Esparza’s title shot campaign recently with ‘The Schmo’ recently, Jedrzejczyk said this (quotes via MMA Junkie).
“This is what she (Esparza) thinks,” Jedrzejczyk said. “She has a few wins straight, but hmm – I think the next challenger should be ‘JJ’ or Weili Zhang. This is what I agreed to only.”
And while talking about whether Zhang could face her next, or Namajunas again, the former champ said.
“Both fights are possible and are very interesting, not only for me, but for the other girls as well – I mean Rose or Weili Zhang, for the UFC and the fans,” Jedrzejczyk said. “So we will see what will happen next.”
Jedrzejczyk (16-4) hasn’t fought since March, 2020, when she dropped a thrilling, split decision to Zhang, who was the champion at the time. The 33-year-old has gone 2-3 in her last five bouts, with other losses coming to the current champ, Namajunas.
The latter reclaimed the strawweight title in April by stopping Zhang in the first round at UFC 261.