Carla Esparza believes she’ll be able to defend her newly won UFC strawweight title before the year comes to a close.
The now two-time world champion defeated Rose Namajunas at UFC 274 in May to regain the title. In her title defense Esparza will likely face Zhang Weili, a former champion. However, it seems that the injuries she sustained in the win over Namajunas aren’t going to keep Esparza from the fight.
Esparza took to social media this week to provide fans with an update and realistic timeline for when she can get into a fight camp.
“Health update: I just saw my doctor in regards to my 2 MRI results yesterday, and the great news is, no surgeries required on either location,” Esparza wrote. “[I’ll] simply require a little more time to heal, [Platelet-rich plasma] injections (already scheduled), and a little physical therapy and I should be back to 100 percent to start camp and fight before this year is done.
” I have a tough battle ahead and I am looking forward to it. In the meantime, look forward to some modified training. Thanks to UFC, for keeping me on the right track and making sure that I return to [100 percent].”
The 34-year-old Esparza has now won six straight bouts and looks to have her first successful UFC title defense. Following her incredible KO of Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 275, Weili called to face Esparza at the promotion’s return to Abu Dhabi in October, though it doesn’t appear that timeline will work for the champion.
