UFC 274: Namajunas vs. Esparza – preview and betting tips

Rose Namajunas has an interesting defense coming up. After defeating Weili Zhang twice, she will face Carla Esparza, who has managed to beat her in the past. What to expect from the fight and what to bet on?

The year was 2014, the finale of The Ultimate Fighter took place and Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas faced off. In the third round, Esparza won by third round choke to become the first UFC strawweight champion.

However, in her very next fight, Esparza lost the title and never fought her way back to a title fight. Until now, after 8 long years, when she will challenge an opponent she has already beaten once in the past. However, a long time has passed and Namajunas holds the title for the second time.

While Namajunas has 3 wins in a row, Esparza has won her last 5 fights. However, the champion has lost once in her last six fights, fighting Joanna Jedrzejczyk (2::0), Jessica Andrade (1::1) and Weili Zhang (2::0) twice.

So you could say that Namajunas has tougher opponents behind her. After all, according to the bookmakers, she is the favourite with rather tempting odds of 1.45.

The fact is that a bet on Namajunas to win should not be that risky. She is more complex, has a good attitude, but she is not afraid of grappling either. He has been training both for a long time. Esparza excels mostly at good wrestling, and she excels in stance in the clinch, where she’s dangerous.

Either way, it’s the reigning champion who should have the upper hand. Namajunas also has great stats in rematches. She hasn’t lost one of her four rematches. This could be her fifth. That time Esparza used wrestling to win, but times have changed, Namajunas has matured.

She’s currently on top and Esparza shouldn’t be enough for her. The fight can be expected to go to the second round, the possibility of the fight ending on points cannot be ruled out. Either way, Namajunas should be the winner.

Source: UFC, Sherdog