Esparza: I am constantly being overlooked
Carla Esparza: “but even through all of my accomplishments, and the extremely hard road it took to get them, I still feel as if I am constantly being overlooked.”
Despite being the first ever UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion, Carla Esparza was not the first woman in the division to sign a lucrative sponsorship. That went to Paige Van Zant who yesterday announced a deal with Reebok, something the champion was not too excited to hear:
If you are asking me if I feel a little overlooked by the ‘UFC machine’ while Paige seemingly is getting a lot of play, then I would be lying if I said that thought didn’t cross my mind, Esparza (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) said in a prepared statement sent to MMAjunkie. I feel so lucky to have been able to accomplish such amazing things in my WMMA career, but even through all of my accomplishments, and the extremely hard road it took to get them, I still feel as if I am constantly being overlooked.
Reebok, of course, is free to sign whatever athlete it chooses as a flagship UFC sponsor and the maker of the promotion’s new uniforms, which are set to debut in July.