Carla Esparza: Weili Zhang 'needs to go on my timeline' for UFC title bout

Shortly after she vanquished Joanna Jedrzejczyk with a spinning backfist knockout at UFC 275 to cement her status as the strawweight division’s No. 1 contender, Weili Zhang proposed a date and location for a title clash with reigning champion Carla Esparza.

“I want [to] fight with Carla in Abu Dhabi because I know there’s a fight there in October,” Zhang said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I think Carla is a special fighter, too, and I know that can be a really good fight. Also, for me and for her — not China or the U.S. So we can fight in another country, so it’s fair for both of us.”

Not so fast, Esparza says. While there’s no debate that Zhang is next in line, “Cookie Monster” recently told the New York Post that an end-of-the-year timeline works best for her as she recovers from some “nagging injuries.” However, she refuses to let the challenger dictate the terms of that engagement.

“I definitely don’t feel like I’m in a position where I should rush just because Weili wants a certain date,” Esparza said. “I’m not trying to go on her timeline. I’m the champion, and I feel she needs to go on my timeline.”

Esparza began her second reign as strawweight champion with a widely criticized split-decision triumph over Rose Namajunas at UFC 274. The bout was largely forgettable because of both fighters' lack of willingness to engage. That said, Esparza remembers feeling rushed into her first title defense after becoming the promotion’s inaugural 115-pound queen, as she went from a December 2014 submission of Namajunas at “The Ultimate Fighter 20” finale to a blowout loss to Jedrzejczyk at UFC 185 in March 2015. It’s not a mistake she plans to repeat.

“That was honestly a big regret of mine, letting the pressure push me into jumping back so quickly after having gone through so much fighting [on] ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ ” Esparza said. “That was my fifth fight in eight months. It’s really draining. That was a big regret of mine, not letting myself recover a little bit and jumping straight back into it because feeling pressured and wanting to make the UFC happy. But in the end, if I’m losing my title, then what was it all worth anyway?”