Carla Esparza tells Claudia Gadelha to “leave the grease at home” for potential rematch

UFC women’s strawweight contender Carla Esparza told Claudia Gadelha to “leave the grease at home” for a potential rematch between the two rivals.

Esparza and Gadelha previously fought at UFC 225 in June 2018, with Gadelha winning a tight split decision in a fight that many believe Esparza deserved to win. Following the fight, Esparza accused Gadelha of greasing, with the Brazilian firing back at the American, saying that she was just making excuses for why she lost the fight.

At UFC Florida on Saturday, Gadelha picked up a split decision win over Angela Hill and proceeded to call Esparza out on the mic, which surprised a lot of fans who were watching the broadcast. Usually, a fighter who wins the first fight isn’t the one asking for a rematch, but in this case, it’s clear that Gadelha wants to prove that she was not greasing and that she’s just the superior mixed martial artist to Esparza.

Following the event, Esparza took to social media to respond to Gadelha’s callout. Esparza said she accepts the challenge to run it back with her rivals, but she proceeded to warn Gadelha not to grease this time. Here’s what Esparza wrote on her Twitter.

Let’s run it back!! Leave the grease at home this time 👊🏽 @ClaudiaGadelha_

— Carla Esparza (@CarlaEsparza1) May 17, 2020

Let’s run it back!! Leave the grease at home this time @ClaudiaGadelha_

Esparza competed last week at UFC 249 when she won a close split decision over Michelle Waterson. With Gadelha also coming off of a split decision win over Hill, a fight between these two long-time rivals seems to make a lot of sense for their next respective bouts. It’s clear that Esparza and Gadelha don’t like each other, so both women are hoping the UFC matchmakers give them what they want and that’s a rematch against one another.

Do you want to see a rematch between Carla Esparza and Claudia Gadelha?