Shortly after she vanquished Joanna
Jedrzejczyk with a spinning backfist knockout at
UFC 275 to cement her status as the strawweight division’s No.
1 contender, Weili Zhang
proposed a date and location for a title clash with reigning
champion Carla
Esparza.
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“I want [to] fight with Carla in Abu Dhabi because I know there’s a
fight there in October,” Zhang said at Saturday’s post-fight press
conference. “I think Carla is a special fighter, too, and I know
that can be a really good fight. Also, for me and for her – not
China or the U.S. So we can fight in another country, so it’s fair
for both of us.”
Not so fast, Esparza says. While there’s no debate that Zhang is
next in line, “Cookie Monster” recently told the
New York Post that an end of the year timeline works best for
her as she recovers from some “nagging injuries.” However, she
refuses to let the challenger dictate the terms of that
engagement.
“I definitely don’t feel like I’m in a position where I should rush
just because Weili wants a certain date,” Esparza said. “I’m not
trying to go on her timeline. I’m the champion, and I feel she
needs to go on my timeline.”
Esparza began her second reign as strawweight champion with a
widely-criticized split-decision triumph over Rose
Namajunas at UFC 274. The bout was largely forgettable because
of both fighters lack of willingness to engage. That said, Esparza
remembers feeling rushed into her first title defense after
becoming the promotion’s inaugural 115-pound queen, as she went
from a December 2014 submission of Namajunas at “The Ultimate
Fighter 20” finale to a blowout loss to Jedrzejczyk at UFC 185 in
March 2015. It’s not a mistake she plans to repeat.
“That was honestly a big regret of mine, letting the pressure push
me into jumping back so quickly after having gone through so much
fighting [on] ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ ” Esparza said. “That was my
fifth fight in eight months. It’s really draining. That was a big
regret of mine, not letting myself recover a little bit and jumping
straight back into it because feeling pressured and wanting to make
the UFC happy. But in the end, if I’m losing my title, then what
was it all worth anyway?”