Dana White responds to Carla Esparza’s request for a title shot: “Statement made. Message received. We see you!”

By Christopher Taylor - May 22, 2021

UFC President Dana White has responded to Carla Esparza after the former champ called for a title shot following her mauling of Yan Xiaonan.

Dana White

Esparza (18-6 MMA), the promotions inaugural strawweight champion, squared off with Xiaonan (13-2 MMA) in the co-headliner of tonight’s UFC Vegas 27 event.

Carla Esparza had entered the pivotal contest sporting a four-fight winning streak, her latest being a split-decision victory over Marina Rodriguez. The former strawweight champion hoped that a fifth win this evening would be enough to convince Dana White and company to give her a rematch with current champ Rose Namajunas.

Meanwhile, Yan Xiaonan was riding an eleven-fight winning streak ahead of tonight’s UFC Vegas 27 co-headliner, which included five-straight wins under the promotional banner.

While many fans and analysts were expecting the bout to be highly competitive matchup, that did not prove to be the case. Instead, Carla Esparza was able to absolutely dominate Yan Xiaonan with her wrestling and wound up scoring a TKO finish in round two.

Carla Esparza, UFC Vegas 27

Carla Esparza

Immediately following her impressive victory, ‘The Cookie Monster’ took to the mic where she pleaded with Dana White and officials to give her a shot at the title.

Esparza’s calls did not fall on deaf ears, as the UFC President confirmed he received Carla’s message loud and clear.

“She looked like a beast tonight,” Dana White told ESPN. “She came out and absolutely dominated. You can tell by the way she was fighting that she was trying to make a statement. Statement made. Message received. We see you.”

As for what will come next for Carla Esparza:

“I’m not sure what we’re going to do next,” White continued. “If we do the rematch (Namajunas vs. Zhang 2), or if we give it to her (Esparza).”

Carla Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas by way of third round submission back in December of 2014 to become the UFC’s inaugural women’s strawweight champion.

‘The Cookie Monster’ never successfully defended her championship, as she was dethroned by Joanna Jedrzejczyk in her first attempted title defense.

Do you think Dana White and the UFC should book a rematch between Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza following the former champs fifth consecutive win at tonight’s UFC Vegas 27 event? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!


Topics:

Carla Esparza Dana White Rose Namajunas UFC UFC Vegas 27. Yan Xiaonan