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Carla Esparza ‘tired of being the gatekeeper,’ wants shot to become champion again

Carla Esparza has enjoyed running off four straight wins and becoming the strawweight division’s halter of hype trains. Now she’s ready to get back to a title fight in one of the UFC’s most competitive divisions.

Esparza earned a hard fought split decision win over Marina Rodriguez at UFC on ESPN 14 this past month in Abu Dhabi. “Cookie Monster” was able to overcome some admitted mistakes, and some unique striking from Rodriguez off of her back to get her hand raised once again.

“Honestly, I feel we were pretty well prepared for everything that she had,” Esparza told MMA Fighting while appearing on What the Heck.