In professional sports it often takes time for an athlete to be seen as a superstar. Many pros have to set themselves apart in their respective sports for an extended period of time before they are recognized as “the Man,” or in this case, “the Woman” in this case. Carla Esparza will go into her strawweight title defense at UFC 185 as the UFC’s standard-bearer at 115 pounds. But beyond the challenge that “The Cookie Monster” faces in the cage against Joanna Jedrzejczyk, the challenge of being overlooked looms nearly as large.
Recently, Esparza openly criticized Reebok and the UFC for overlooking the champion when the apparel company began to sign champions and superstars to “individual” deals outside of the standard UFC uniform deal. Instead of securing a deal with the Esparza, the company instead signed Paige VanZant to a deal for a signature line. VanZant is a 20-year-old fighter with just five total fights, but she was made a higher priority than the UFC’s top fighter at 115 pounds. As a UFC champion, Esparza did not take kindly to the snub.
“If you’re asking me if I feel a little overlooked by the ‘UFC machine’ while Paige is seemingly getting a lot of play, then I would be lying if I said that thought didn’t cross my mind,” Esparza recently stated in an interview with MMA Junkie. “I feel so lucky to have been able to accomplish such amazing things in my WMMA career, but even through all of my accomplishments, and the extremely hard road it took to get them, I still feel as if I am constantly being overlooked.”
Even beyond the merchandise deal, Esparza may reasonably feel overlooked and underrated. Heading into her first title defense against Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Esparza is a -165 favorite; her opponent is a +145 underdog. However, many individuals in the media are still picking the Polish fighter to prevail. Their skills match up in a very interesting fashion, as Esparza is more of a wrestler-boxer who uses her striking to set up opportunities to take down opponents and play the position game, while Jedrzejczyk is a high-volume striker who puts combinations together. In her fight against Claudia Gadelha at UFC on Fox 13, Jedrzejczyk showed an ability to get back to her feet when pressured against the cage. Because Gadelha has a fight style that is very similar to that of Esparza, that raises questions about Esparza’s chances of achieving success against Jedrzejczyk in a way that Gadelha could not.
The distractions for Esparza do not end there. In an interview with Fox Sports, Esparza admitted to feeling the pressure to continue what UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey has already started. Rousey is coming off of a dominating win at UFC 184 that has further catapulted her stardom to new levels. Esparza clearly wants that level of admiration in the MMA world, but to do so she needs to dominate the 115-pound weight class in the same way. And that’s a tall order, especially in a weight class that has yet to fully flesh out, and which has a number of contenders capable of snatching her title away
Instead of concerning herself with other competitors are doing, Esparza needs to realize what is directly in front of her.
Instead of worrying about Ronda Rousey or Paige VanZant, the UFC Strawweight Champion needs to keep her eyes on the belt around her waist. Come UFC 185, Carla Esparza will be afforded the opportunity to prove that she deserves more attention than she has been getting. With an amazing performance, she can push her name towards the forefront of the promotion, where she clearly wants to be.
• Carla Esparza vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (UFC Strawweight Championship)
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UFC 185: Pettis vs. dos Anjos is due to take place on March 14, 2015 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
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