Joanna Jędrzejczyk has made it clear that she believes it’s going to take a little more for fans to be invested in Carla Esparza.
Esparza has seemingly put herself in a decent position to challenge Rose Namajunas for the UFC Strawweight Championship. After all, she is riding a five-fight winning streak and is coming off a second-round TKO win over Yan Xiaonan. She has found herself at the number three spot on the official UFC strawweight rankings.
Ahead of her at number two is Jędrzejczyk. The former 115-pound ruler recently dismissed Esparza as the next strawweight title challenger. During an interview with MMA Island, Jędrzejczyk went a little more in-depth on why she feels Esparza needs one more key matchup before challenging for gold (via LowKickMMA.com).
“I don’t know what’s next. It’s up to the UFC matchmakers and of course Rose Namajunas,” Jędrzejczyk said. “It depends what she’s trying to do next, who she will fight next and what she decides. I don’t know.
“I feel like me or Weili Zhang could be a better matchup for Rose [Namajunas]. Of course, I don’t want to take anything from Carla Esparza. I don’t know, maybe me or Weili Zhang, Carla could face one of us and see if she is really on this championship level.”
Esparza isn’t a stranger to UFC gold. She was the inaugural UFC Strawweight Champion. The reign didn’t last long as Jędrzejczyk scored a second-round TKO win over Esparza to capture the 115-pound title.
If Esparza were to get the next title shot against Namajunas, it would be a rematch. Esparza’s defeated Namajunas back in December 2014 to win the 115-pound gold.