Carla Esparza decided to open up in public about her UFC 225 showdown with Claudia Gadelha. She accused the Brazilian Strawweight competitor of cheating!
Their showdown ended up via split victory to Gadelha. Most media outlets gave an advantage to the Brazilian. Carla Esparza is not much angry about that. But Esparza has one major bone to pick – she believes Gadelha greased before the fight. If this is true, Carla Esparza would have a really hard time taking her down or executing a successful clinch and ground game. (via bloodyelbow.com)
“She cheated in the fight; she greased before the fight. I was considering saying something to the referee in between [rounds]. I was going to say, ‘She’s greasing! She’s greasing’, but I didn’t really know how to go about it.”
“It’s pretty shady to me. I re-watched the fight and my hands were slipping right off. Even when I was trying to grab armbars during the fight my arms kept slipping down. She’s a cheater, but it doesn’t really surprise me. In my opinion, she’s been a pretty dirty fighter throughout, so it is what it is.”
There was a big rivalry between these two fighters before they finally met. The two should meet in Invicta FC a few years ago but Claudia Gadelha was forced out of both fights. Both fighters were calm and collected after the fight but look like it evaporated like aerated water.
“I felt that I won anyway. I felt that things could’ve even been more dominant on my side had [she not greased],”, says Esparza. Claudia, you’re a cheater, straight up. It’s not cool. It is what it is, but it’s done with.”
What do you think, who won the fight? Will Carla Esparza be able to prove her assertions? If so, what were the referee’s doing before Gadelha entered the Octagon and why she wasn’t inspected properly?
