Strawweight champion Carla Esparza says she was not surprised by Joanna Jedrzejczyk's retirement

Esparza (left) and Joanna (right) faced each other in March 2015 (Photo: Reproduction/UFC)

Former rival of Joanna Jedrzejczyk, the straw champion (up to 52,2kg) said he was not surprised by the Polish woman's decision to announce her retirement. The American showed respect for the former owner of the belt, but believes that her long absence from the Octagon and consecutive defeats discouraged her from continuing with her career. The statement was made in an interview with ‘MMA Junkie’.

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“I guess I wasn’t too surprised. If someone sits out for two years and goes on a losing streak, even though she's fought in the biggest competition, I think for her, just judging from what I've always heard her say, she wants to be the best, she wants to be a champion. . With the loss of this fight (the rematch for Weili Zhang), I think it would be a long road back, and I can see her retiring because of it,” Esparza said.

Defeated by Joanna in 2015, Carla made no secret of the fact that she was disappointed with her rival's retirement announcement, as she dreamed of facing her again.

“There is always disappointment. But I mean, doing this for so long, a lot of people I've fought have walked away from the sport. That kind of comes from me being in the sport for so many years. I've kind of accepted that you won't always get that chance for a rematch. I would have loved to have had this opportunity, because I feel like I've grown a lot as a fighter. But I’m happy for her and her journey from now on”, concluded the champion.

Considered one of the biggest names in the history of the strawweight division, Joanna decided to hang up her gloves after a complicated series of defeats, resulting in an absence of just over two years from the octagon. In her last seven fights, the Pole suffered five setbacks and ended her professional career with a record of 16 positive results and five negative results.