Daniel Cormier gives take on Carla Esparza vs. Weili Zhang: “She might be the biggest challenger favorite ever”

By Josh Evanoff - June 15, 2022

Daniel Cormier believes that UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza will be a massive underdog to Weili Zhang.

Zhang-Weili

‘Cookie Monster’ re-captured the UFC’s strawweight title following a win over Rose Namajunas last month. The win saw her move her win-streak to six, and become champion for the first time since 2015. However, her win over ‘Thug Rose’ was also blasted as one of the worst fights in UFC history.

Now, just a month into her title reign, Carla Esparza has her first challenger. The strawweight champion is set to face Weili Zhang later this year. The 32-year-old is fresh off a knockout victory over Joanna Jędrzejczyk last Saturday at UFC 275.

Ahead of the fight, many believe that Carla Esparza will be a massive underdog. Former UFC dual-weight champion Daniel Cormier is among them. The 43-year-old previewed the matchup on the DC & RC podcast.

There, Daniel Cormier praised Weili Zhang for her knockout win last weekend. It’s likely because of both fighters’ last performances that ‘DC’ believes that ‘Magnum’ will be a massive favorite when she fights Carla Esparza.

Daniel Cormier, UFC, Commentary

Daniel Cormier

“It’s a tale as old as time. Sometimes fighters hang around too long, I don’t think that was the case for Joanna, but Zhang Weili is just in another stage of her career.  Whereas Joanna wants to be a mother and a businesswoman. They’re very close in age, but Weili doesn’t have any desire to do any of those other things. All she wants to be is the world champion, and it was on full display on Saturday night.”

Daniel Cormier continued, “Ultimately the story is about Zhang Weili, and her quest to become the UFC champion for a second time. In a fight, she may be honestly RC, the biggest challenger in terms of a favorite going into a fight that you’ve ever seen in the UFC. She’s gonna be a massive favorite over Carla Esparza.”

What do you think about Daniel Cormier’s comments? Do you think that Weili Zhang will defeat Carla Esparza? Sound off in the comments below!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


Topics:

Carla Esparza Daniel Cormier UFC Weili Zhang