Namajunas vs Esparza betting picks & top odds – UFC 274

Rose Namajunas will be looking for the third successful defense of her UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship title this Saturday when she takes on Carla Esparza in the co-main event at UFC 274. The Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona will play host to this loaded UFC card that is capped off with two title fights in this one and the main event of Charles Oliveira vs Justin Gaethje.

Rose Namajunas record, form & results

Rose Namajunas (11-4-0) followed up her first-round knockout win over Zhang Weili at UFC 261 with a title defense in a far more competitive fight at UFC 268, earning a split-decision win over Weili in November. Namajunas is now 6-1 over her last seven fights in a stretch that include six title fights. Two of her last three wins have come by split decision over Weili and Andrade.

Carla Esparza record, form & results

Carla Esparza (18-6-0) extended her current winning streak to five straight bouts with her knockout victory over Yan Xiaonan last May. This marked the first time since December 12, 2014 that Esparza has won with a finish as each of her previous seven wins had come by decision. That win in 2014 came via rear-naked choke submission over Rose Namajunas. Esparza will be looking for another convincing win this Saturday after having two of her last three fights decided by split decision as well.

Namajunas vs Esparza betting predictions

Namajunas has improved quite a bit since she fell to 2-2 as a professional with that loss to Esparza over seven years ago. “Thug” Rose has never lost a rematch in her entire career; she has already successfully avenged losses to Tecia Torres and Jessica Andrade while defeating both Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili twice in back-to-back title fights against each fighter.

While Esparza does have the submission win over Namajunas and the recent knockout win over Xiaonan on her resume, her finishes in the UFC have been few and far between. This lack of real finishing power limits her ability to threaten a fighter as good as Namajunas with an upset. Esparza has won five straight fights and an upset win here certainly isn’t out of the question. But we’ve just seen too much tenacity and outstanding technique out of Namajunas at the highest level in the strawweight division to pick against her going up against an opponent with no recent experience in championship fights. Look for the champion to defend in an entertaining co-main event.

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