Rose Namajunas apologized to UFC fans for her lackluster performance against Carla Esparza Saturday at UFC 274.
Eight years since they last fought for the women’s strawweight championship, Esparza defeated Namajunas by split decision to win the title in a match that featured little action.
“Sorry to everyone,” she wrote on Instagram. “I f–ked up. Definitely feel like a s–tty human being but this will make me a better [fighter]. Hats off to Carla and thanks to everyone who’s been there for me.”
UFC boss Dana White criticized the match, saying he “zoned out” mid-way through it.
“It was a weird fight,” he said. “Seemed like they didn’t want to engage. I think they threw a total of six punches in the first round. It was a tough one. That happens sometimes.”
Esparza was somewhat perplexed by Namajunas’ passivity.
Carla Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas for the UFC women’s strawweight championship, in a match that was panned by UFC boss Dana White. Zuffa LLC via Getty Images“I don’t feel that Rose pushed the pace,” Esparza said. “As a champion, you really need to go after it, and [say], ‘This is my octagon.’”
“I don’t really feel that she was aggressive enough to say, ‘Hey, this was my win,’ so at the end of the day, I got the belt, and if she wants a rematch, I’m down for that, too.”
Esparza continued: “I hate to say it this way, but, it’s hard to fight someone that doesn’t want to fight.”
This was the second strawweight title run for the 29-year-old Namajunas. She had most recently held the championship since defeating Zhang Weili at UFC 261 last April.
