Carla Esparza plans on waiting for UFC title shot despite warning from Dana White

Carla Esparza says she plans on waiting for a UFC women’s strawweight title shot despite a warning from UFC president Dana White.

Esparza is currently riding a five-fight win streak and, in her last appearance, absolutely smashed the face of Yan Xiaonan with ground-and-pound en route to a second-round TKO stoppage and a 50k POTN bonus. In addition, Esparza holds a notable win over Marina Rodriguez during her win streak, who looks to be a top contender following her recent victory over Mackenzie Dern. Overall, Esparza has done everything that she has had to in order to get a title shot at 115lbs. And yet, the UFC decided that they were going to book a rematch between Rose Namajunas and Weili Zhang that takes place at UFC 268.

After Rodriguez’s big win over Dern, there are some who believe she has now jumped the line and should be next in line for the title shot at 115lbs. However, Esparza believes she has done enough to earn it, and she plans on sitting out and waiting until she gets the next title shot against the winner of next month’s title fight. However, White has warned Esparza that waiting for a title shot could wind up being the wrong decision for her career.

Speaking to MMAFighting.com in a recent interview, Esparza confirmed that, despite White’s warning, she plans on sitting out and waiting to get the next title shot.

“I definitely plan to wait for the winner of that fight and kind of see what shakes up at that point. If it came to a point where Weili won and they were like “OK, we’re going to do a rematch’ and then maybe it’s time for me to stay busy. But I’ve been waiting,” Esparza said. “It’s been nearly seven years since I won my title. I’ve worked so hard to get back to this point and anything in a fight can happen. I’ve obviously shown that I’m willing to fight anyone and everyone in the division and I’ve been doing that my whole career. So it’s not a matter of being afraid to fight anyone. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and I don’t want to lose it to impatience.”

Do you think Carla Esparza is making the right call waiting for a title shot at 115lbs, or do you think she should take Dana White’s advice and stay active by fighting again?