UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza isn’t very interested in fighting fellow titleholder Valentina Shevchenko.
‘Cookie Monster’ is fresh off her title-winning performance against Rose Namajunas last month. The victory saw her claim the 115-pound championship for the second time. However, the win over ‘Thug Rose’ was also labeled as one of the worst fights in UFC history.
Following her title win, the 34-year-old was linked to a fight with Weili Zhang. The former strawweight champion is fresh off a victory over Joanna Jędrzejczyk earlier this month. If that fight with ‘Magnum’ doesn’t come to fruition, a fight with Valentina Shevchenko could be on the table.
The women’s flyweight champion was last seen in the octagon at UFC 275, defeating Taila Santos. Prior to the victory, she teased a move either up, or down in weight. The main motivator is a chance at double-champion status for ‘The Bullet’.
Now, in an interview with MMAJunkie, Carla Esparza previewed a matchup with Valentina Shevchenko. The women’s strawweight champion admitted that a fight with her fellow champion would be scary. She also referenced Shevchenko’s previous wins over Jessica Andrade and Joanna Jędrzejczyk.
“Well, that would be scary,” admitted Esparza with a laugh. “She is like, you know, a beast, for sure. I think that she would definitely put some fear in a lot of strawweights’ hearts. I mean, if you look at (Jéssica) Andrade and Joanna (Jędrzejczyk), some of the most dominant strawweights in the division, they go up, fight her, and they get destroyed.” (h/t MMANews)
“It’s hard to say what a weight cut would do to her, ’cause that’s a little, you know, a bit to go. But yeah, that would be scary… For me, Valentina, I consider her the GOAT of women’s MMA,” added Esparza.
What do you think about Carla Esparza’s comments? Do you think she would defeat Valentina Shevchenko? Sound off in the comments below!