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Apparently her grappling has picked up a lot.

“She finished (Jessica) Andrade, she finished Joanna and these are some heavy hitters. She knows the danger the former champion presents, and she showed the same respect that Weili gave her after knocking out Jedrzejczyk in acknowledging that it will be a difficult fight. So as soon as I can get back in there and start a healthy camp, I’m going to do it.”Īlthough she’s not physically prepared to begin a training camp, Esparza’s mental preparation for Weili is already underway. This isn’t something that I’m trying to back away from. I think the typical number of fights a titleholder is going to have is one or two fights a year, and I definitely plan to fall in that range. “I would definitely want to fight before the year is out. “Ideally I would love to fight in November or December,” Esparza said. She has every intention of fighting in 2022, and after being sidelined for just shy of one year between fights while waiting for a title shot, a six-or-seven-month stretch to schedule a defense is hardly beyond the scope. Unless her MRI scans produce negative news that surpass any current expectations, Esparza doesn’t anticipate her rehabilitation timeline to extend an unreasonable length. But the only thing I’m taking away from that, is I’m learning from that. “Not being ready and not having recovered fully physically. “That was definitely a big regret of my career is going into that fight and being rushed by the UFC into that initial fight with Joanna and not being 100 percent,” Esparza said. It took Esparza more than seven years to get another championship fight inside the octagon, and now that she’s back atop the mountain, the 34-year-old is not going to be pressured into accepting a fight when her health status is not ideal. It did not go well, because Joanna Jedrzejczyk seamlessly took the strap with a lopsided second-round TKO at UFC 185 in March 2015. Esparza made just a three-month turnaround after becoming the inaugural 115-pound champion at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale. Her original stint on top was short-lived, though. She’s a very tough opponent and I want to go into a camp giving it that respect.” I want to fully rehab and go into this camp 100 percent, because I do have respect for Weili as an opponent. So, before I can start pushing hard and start going into a camp, I really want to make sure I’m not going to injure something that’s going to turn into a surgical situation. For me, I just wanted that peace of mind to get those MRIs because I’m not 100 percent yet, and it’s been a good amount of time (since my last fight). I’ve already had an appointment with the doctor. “I don’t think it’s anything too serious. So, we’ll see after the dust settles what date makes sense for us. A couple MRIs that I should be getting tomorrow. I have some injuries that I have to deal with. Unfortunately that’s not a day that works for me, so I’m not stressing or rushing to get back on a day that works for her. “It didn’t seem like she took any injuries, she probably wants a fight closer to home.

“I understand why she would say it,” Esparza told MMA Junkie. 22 event, labeling it “fair” neutral territory between the American titleholder and Chinese contender.Įsparza appreciates Weili’s forward-thinking attitude with a firm pitch for their showdown, but the reigning champ is still dealing with nagging injuries in the fallout of her heavily scrutinized title win over Rose Namajunas at UFC 274 in April, and the timeline simply doesn’t fit. After the win, Weili called for the fight to happen at the Oct. Weili (22-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) scored an incredible spinning backfist knockout that sent Joanna Jedrzejczyk into retirement earlier this month at UFC 275, solidifying her position as the next challenger to Esparza (19-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC). UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza is dealing with injuries and won’t be agreeing to a fight with Zhang Weili at UFC 281 in Abu Dhabi.