LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White thinks it’s a bad call for former strawweight champion Carla Esparza to wait for a title shot.
Esparza (18-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC), who’s won her past five fights in a row, felt snubbed when the title shot was handed to Zhang Weili, who just lost her title to Rose Namajunas by first-round knockout earlier this year at UFC 261.
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Esparza said that, with Mackenzie Dern now out of the picture and Namajunas and Weili set to rematch in just three weeks at UFC 268, she’s content to wait for the winner.
White, however, thinks that would be a mistake.
“I don’t ever agree with that,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, on Tuesday at the UFC Apex. “You’ve seen what happens in the past. When you sit out and try and wait for a title fight, it usually doesn’t happen. Stuff never falls the way that it’s supposed to, and you end up sitting out for too long, and people start to forget about you, and it’s never a wise decision to just sit out. If you get offered a fight, you should take it.”
Esparza is not only the promotion’s inaugural strawweight champion, but she holds a finish over current champ Namajunas, as well as a recent win over emerging contender Marina Rodriguez.
