{"id":278403,"date":"2018-06-11T16:28:45","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T23:28:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=278403"},"modified":"2018-06-11T16:28:45","modified_gmt":"2018-06-11T23:28:45","slug":"along-with-colby-covington-carla-esparza-believes-her-ufc-225-opponent-cheated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/carla-esparza\/along-with-colby-covington-carla-esparza-believes-her-ufc-225-opponent-cheated\/","title":{"rendered":"Along with Colby Covington, Carla Esparza believes her UFC 225 opponent cheated"},"content":{"rendered":"

It would seem that new UFC interim welterweight champion, Colby Covington isn’t the only one claiming that their UFC 225 opponent used some illegal tactics<\/a> mid-fight this past Saturday night.<\/p>\n

Having fought in the second bout of the televised portion of the UFC 225 prelims, former UFC strawweight champion, Carla Esparza, like Covington also believes that she fell victim to her opponent greasing during their fight.<\/p>\n

Esparza explained her feelings on the MMA Hour<\/a>\u00a0today.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe cheated in the fight, she greased before the fight. I was considering saying something to the referee in between [rounds]. I was going to say, \u2018She\u2019s greasing! She\u2019s greasing\u2019, but I didn\u2019t really know how to go about it.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s pretty shady to me. I re-watched the fight and my hands were slipping right off. Even when I was trying to grab armbars during the fight my arms kept slipping down. She\u2019s a cheater, but it doesn\u2019t really surprise me. In my opinion, she\u2019s been a pretty dirty fighter throughout, so it is what it is.<\/em><\/p>\n

I felt that I won anyway. I felt that things could\u2019ve even been more dominant on my side had [she not greased]. Claudia, you\u2019re a cheater, straight up. It\u2019s not cool. It is what it is, but it\u2019s done with.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Esparza took on Claudia Gadelha in a fight that was years in the making as the two were supposed to clash on two separate occasions prior in Invicta. The two would finally meet on the grandest stage and put on a great and closely contested fight that saw Gadelha earn the nod via split decision.<\/p>\n

The former champion continued on about how she regrets not speaking up.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the second round, I was going to say something to the ref, but I didn\u2019t and I kind of regret that. I don\u2019t know how I would\u2019ve gone about that. I\u2019ve never been in that situation before.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI do [regret not telling the referee]. I don\u2019t know if it would\u2019ve made a difference. Maybe they could\u2019ve toweled her off, but I really don\u2019t know. I\u2019ve heard of people doing this over the years. But I never actually experienced it before.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Following the claims in her interview, Esparza took to Twitter afterward to let it be known she wouldn’t just say this for nothing and then go on to challenge Gadelha to a rematch.<\/p>\n

\n

And just for the record, I would NEVER publicly accuse someone of anything unless I was 100% sure.<\/p>\n

— Carla Esparza (@CarlaEsparza1) June 11, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n