"We started the division together. Round 2?" - Carla Esparza calls out UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas for a rematch

After a dominant performance at UFC Vegas 27, Carla Esparza is ready to take on Rose Namajunas for the UFC women's strawweight title.

Fresh off her TKO win over Yan Xiaonan, 'Cookie Monster' issued a challenge to 'Thug' Rose on Twitter. Carla Esparza wrote:

"We started this division together... Round 2?! #respect #tuf20 @ufc"

We started this division together... Round 2?! #respect #tuf20 @ufc pic.twitter.com/NjXXNjNQ9l

— Carla Esparza (@CarlaEsparza1) May 25, 2021

The rivalry between Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas can be traced back to the inception of the UFC strawweight division in 2014. Both women were contestants in The Ultimate Fighter season 20. In the show's finale, Esparza submitted a young Namajunas in round three to become the inaugural UFC strawweight champion.

Carla Esparza's reign, however, was short-lived as she dropped the belt to Joanna Jędrzejczyk in her first title defense at UFC 185.

Rose Namajunas' ascent

Rose Namajunas wins the strawweight title from Zhang Weili at UFC 261

'Thug' Rose earned another shot at the title after going 4-1 in her last five fights after the TUF 20 finale. At UFC 217, Namajunas pulled off a monumental upset when she knocked out Jędrzejczyk in round one to claim the UFC strawweight title before handing the Polish star a second consecutive defeat when they ran it back five months later.

Namajunas was dethroned by Jessica Andrade, who slammed the champion head first to the mat to earn the KO victory. 'Thug' Rose avenged her loss when she edged Andrade in a split decision in a rematch at UFC 251.

At UFC 261, Namajunas shattered the odds when she KO'd dominant champ Zhang Weili in the first round to recapture the UFC strawweight crown. Namajunas made history by becoming the first female champion to reclaim a UFC title after losing it.

Would Rose Namajunas fight Carla Esparza?

Following her victory at UFC 261, Rose Namajunas was asked if she had a preference for her next opponent. While 'Thug' Rose didn't give a straightforward answer, she made it clear that Carla Esparza is among the contenders she's keeping an eye out for.

"There's no obvious answer. I kinda wanna see how Carla [vs.] Yan plays out," Rose Namajunas said during the UFC 261 press conference. "So we'll see."

With Carla Esparza's recent success, there's no doubt that she has emerged as a frontrunner for a strawweight title shot.