UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas squared off against old rival Carla Esparza in a rematch in the co-main event of UFC 274. The stage was set for Thug Rose to avenge her 2014 loss against Esparza and successfully defend her title for the second time.
It is needless to say that fight fans had high hopes for this matchup as everyone expected the two strawweights to put on a show as they have improved significantly since their first fight that took place in 2014.
However, to the surprise of many, this matchup turned out to be a snooze fest as both Thug Rose and Esparza did not take any risks and landed a combined 67 strikes in 25 minutes of action. In the end, the judges scored the contest 47-48, 46-49 and 48-47 in favour of Esparza. Carla won the bout via split decision and she dethroned Rose to become the new strawweight champion.
After losing the fight, Thug Rose sat down for an interview at the post-event press conference. While having a conversation an interviewer asked Namajunas about her feelings after losing the title. She downplayed Carla’s striking and takedowns and claimed that she won the fight.
“I won that fight. I stuck to the strategy. I felt like as if I landed the more shots, I even took her down. None of her takedowns were significant or any control time. I mean she hit me with one good punch. So I thought I won.”
Fans react to Rose Namajunas’ comments in the UFC 274 post-event press conference
As soon as Rose Namajunas made a statement that she should have won the UFC 274 title fight against Carla Esparza, fight fans went on Twitter to express their frustration. Many fans called Thug Rose delusional for her comments. Several fans also targeted Pat Barry as they believe that Namajunas lost the title due to his wrong advice.
.@rosenamajunas and her corner @HypeOrDie are delusional, if they think Rose won that fight.
They did not advice her well and my only conclusion is they’re sniffing each other’s farts. https://t.co/oIYbpqBXb4— baby yoda (@noitbbygrogu) May 8, 2022
Watching this UFC Press conference. Can somebody drug test Thug Rose ? This chick is absoloutely delusional #UFC274
— D (@Dariam___) May 8, 2022
A lot of that loss for Rose Namajunas is on Pat Barry. Basically telling her she’s doing fine all fight, loses her belt. Poor corner work! #UFC274
— Graham Hoey (@G_Hoey) May 8, 2022
It is true that the outcome could have been different if Rose Namajunas’ corner would have given better advice to her during the fight. In the end, it is safe to assume that fans weren’t happy with the way the fight played out.
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