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Carla Esparza is set to fight for the belt again when she takes on Rose Namajunas in a rematch at UFC 274. Both women fought back in 2014 for the inaugural strawweight title and have since had very successful careers.
The fight is actually the first rematch of Carla Esparza's career but she admits it doesn't really feel that way. Rose Namajunas has completely changed as a fighter heading into UFC 274.
“In my whole career, I’ve never had a rematch. This is the first one,” Esparza told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’m really interested to see how it goes, and I’m just as motivated. It almost feels like I’m fighting a different person. I am fighting a different person in Rose because it’s been so many years. I’ve evolved so much, she’s evolved so much, so in a way it doesn’t feel like a rematch.”
The motivation heading into the fight is going to be interesting considering Carla Esparza handed Rose Namajunas her first loss in the UFC. Now that she's the champion, things are going to get very interesting between the two.
“We’ve come so far, and she’s kind of gone through everyone and really improve so much and beat so many people that I think she is the champion, and she deserves to be the champion and where she’s at,” Esparza said ahead of UFC 274. “So I’m definitely looking at her like she’s the one to beat, she’s No. 1, she’s the champ.
“But like you said, I do have the win over her, so it’s kind of hard to say what her motivation will be. I know that she’s always had that extra motivation for anyone that she’s lost to in the past, and she’s really come back strong and beaten everyone so far.”
