Joanna Ju0119drzejczyk says Carla Esparza deserves respect heading into her upcoming defense against Zhang Weili on Saturday.
Esparza returns to defend her title for the first time since dethroning Rose Namajunas at UFC 274 this past May. Unfortunately for the ‘Cookie Monster,’ fans have yet to move on from that fight, which was widely considered one of the worst of the year. So when Esparza arrived to the pre-fight press conference for UFC 281 on Wednesday, she was met with a chorus of boos and jeers from fans.
Fortunately, Esparza has an ally in Ju0119drzejczyk, her former opponent who was less than pleased with the reception the reigning UFC strawweight champion received.