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Carla Esparza recently revealed who, according to her, is the current women's MMA GOAT. The UFC strawweight champion believes Valentina Shevchenko is the greatest female fighter of all time.
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Esparza discussed Shevchenko's outing against Taila Santos in the co-main event of UFC 275. 'Cookie Monster' praised the flyweight queen's performance and admitted that she regarded her as the GOAT of women's MMA.
"Yeah, definitely for me, like, Valentina [Shevchenko]. I consider her as the GOAT of women's MMA."
Watch Carla Esparza's interview with MMA Junkie below:
Valentina Shevchenko locked horns with Taila Santos earlier this month and endured the toughest fight of her career at 125 pounds. Shevchenko earned her seventh title defense with a split decision win on the night.
However, it turned out to be a rather controversial fight, with numerous MMA fans and fighters claiming that Santos was the rightful winner and deserved to get the judges' nod. Many notable fighters, including Henry Cejudo, Derek Brunson, and Rafael dos Anjos, took to social media to reveal their displeasure with the decision.
Carla Esparza revisits UFC 274 snoozefest against Rose Namajunas
Carla Esparza took on Rose Namajunas for the UFC women's strawweight title at UFC 274 in May. Esparza defeated 'Thug' Rose via split decision to re-claim the 115-pound championship, in what turned out to be one of the worst title fights in UFC history.
Both Esparza and Namajunas were largely inactive throughout the bout, making it very hard to score and watch. The fight holds the record for the fewest combined total strikes in a five-round fight with 67 significant strikes and three takedowns landed.
In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Esparza explained why the fight unfolded in such an uneventful manner.
"Her corner and her game plan was just waiting for me to make a mistake and get wild and come in too wild and aggressive. And she kept her composure too, and you had two kind of opposing game plans and it just kind of led to a result like this which is unfortunate because you never want to have a fight like that. It's a bummer and you want the fans to be happy and excited about your fight."
Watch Carla Esparza's interview with MMA Fighting below:
Esparza will be defending the strawweight title when she returns to the octagon. Top contender Marina Rodriguez and former champion Zhang Weili are the clear-cut frontrunners for a shot at the title. Weili is the likeliest candidate, off the back of her sensational KO victory over Joanna Jędrzejczyk.
