Carla Espazar will play Ross Namayunas in the women's grassweight title two-week round at UFC 274 in two weeks' time, but in a recent interview, Carla said she felt the match was not as simple as a rematch.
The first encounter between the two took place in December 2014 during the season 20 final of The Ultimate Fighter, a landmark battle that determined the first women's strawweight champion in UFC history. Carla showed a big advantage in that game, eventually subduing Rose with a naked strand and crowning him the title.
The championship match that will be played in UFC 274 is seven and a half years after that race, and both players have changed dramatically, so it also gives Carla a completely fresh feeling for this rematch.
I've never played a rematch in my career, it was my first. I was really interested in seeing how the game would unfold, which also motivated me. For Rose now, she gives me the feeling that she has become a completely different opponent, because many years have passed, so it is a completely new duel. I've improved a lot over the years, and so has she, so it didn't feel like a rematch at all.
The 34-year-old Espazar is currently in a good 5-game winning streak, winning the title challenge by beating Michel Watson, Marina Rodriguez and Yan Xiaonan in the past three consecutive games. Although he defeated Rose in his first encounter many years ago, Espazar knew that Rose was now fully mature and would be a very dangerous opponent, especially in such a second-time battle.
We all went through a lot after the last confrontation, she passed all kinds of tests and made great progress. She beat a lot of the top players in this magnitude and I think she's a real champion who deserves the title perfectly. I see her as the first person in the grass level now, and definitely the guy I want to beat the most.
But as you said, I've already won her once, so it's really hard to say what her motivation is this time. I know that revenge on those who have beaten you will always give you extra motivation, Rose has always returned in a stronger state and beaten opponents in every second game, and she has never lost a single replay so far.