Lupita Godinez gives her prediction for Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza 2 at UFC 274

Rose Namajunas made history when she captured the strawweight title for the second time after beating Zhang Weili at UFC 261 in April 2021. Not only did she snap Weili's incredible 21-fight winning streak, but she also became the first woman in UFC history to capture a title twice.

'Thug' Rose followed it up by defending her belt against the same former champion at UFC 268 in November 2021. Although she didn't secure a spectacular knockout in the first round like last time, Namajunas edged out a split decision victory after five rounds of high-level combat. This Saturday at UFC 274, Rose Namajunas will face her former nemesis and first UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza for her second title defense.

Surging strawweight contender Lupita Godinez recently spoke to Sportskeeda MMA in an exclusive interview. While discussing the upcoming title fight in her division between Namajunas and Esparza, 'Loopy' revealed her pick:

"It's great, you know? Great opportunity for the ladies and I trained with Rose before... If you give me a pick, I will have to go with Rose."

'Loopy' is not alone in her views as the sitting champion is the betting favorite across the board. Former strawweight queen Joanna Jędrzejczyk also picked Namajunas to win, predicting a first-round finish from 'Thug' Rose.

Watch Lupita Godinez's full interview with Sportskeeda MMA below:

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Lupita Godinez promises domination against Ariane Carnelossi at UFC 274 as Rose Namajunas tries to level score with Carla Esparza

'Loopy' broke Khamzat Chimaev's record when she fought twice in seven days, even earning massive praise from UFC president Dana White. Although she moved up a weight class and lost the fight, Godinez took her place in history and earned immense respect from fighters and fans alike.

The Mexican native will go up against fellow strawweight Ariane Carnelossi at UFC 274, and she promises to put on a dominating performance. 'Loopy' is confident that she will be comfortable no matter where the fight may go:

"Well, the performance is gonna be, I'm gonna be dominating the whole time, no matter where we go. You guys will see that from my part and I see [that I will] finish her with some, you know, take her back and choking her or maybe an arm bar, that's how I kind of see it playing out. But it's an MMA fight, anything can happen, so I'm ready for anything."

Rose Namajunas, for her part, will also look to put on a dominating performance against Carla Esparza. After having lost to 'Cookie Monster' in their first meeting due to a rear naked choke in The Ultimate Fighter 20 finale, 'Thug' Rose will look to make a statement and show just how many levels she's improved since that meeting in 2014.