Carla Esparza is a mixed martial artist. She is currently the Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight champion. She is currently UFC strawweight champion. This is her second title defense after losing her title in her first title defense against Cyborg at Invicta FC 6: Coenen II (2013).
Carla Esparza is a mixed martial artist
Carla Esparza is an American mixed martial artist. She competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women's strawweight division. She is currently UFC Women's Strawweight Champion.
After signing with Invicta FC, Esparza rose to fame for the first time in 2012. She defeated Sarah Schneider at Invicta FC 2 in 2012. Esparza got on the back of Schneider early with a heel hook and then attacked the Argentine. She controlled her opponent's head and briefly tried to apply a rear-naked choke.
She is currently UFC strawweight champ
Carla Esparza has been fighting professionally since 2010. She is the first UFC strawweight champion and the first Invicta FC strawweight champion. She is currently ranked #4 in UFC's women's strawweight rankings as of January 2021. Esparza, who won the Ultimate Fighter 20 women’s straighweight tournament in 2014, made her UFC debut.
Carla Esparza doesn't have a perfect record. She lost to Jessica Andrade. Claudia Gadelha. Randa Markos. She also has fought in close matches against Jessica Andrade and Weili Zhang. This could be seen to be a red alert given her five-fight winning record.
She was unable to defend her title at Invicta FFC 6: Cyborg against Coenen II (2013).
Cyborg holds the upper hand. Coenen is a determined and aggressive fighter. Coenen was unable stop Cyborg's constant assault, despite a round that saw both fighters landing leg kicks. Cyborg scored a takedown in round two and landed several punches. Coenen attempted to escape while Cyborg landed a few power punches in the second round.
Cyborg will likely defend her featherweight title versus Coenen. The Strikeforce featherweight champion, Cyborg, won their first TKO fight. Coenen has a record of two victories in his last fights. The winner will take on either Ayako or Carla Hamasaki.
She suffered nerve damage in 2007
Carla Esparza, despite suffering nerve damage in 2007, has been able return to action in recent times. She won the UFC strawweight championship in May by defeating Rose Namajunas. In November, she is expected to defend her title against former champ Zhang Weili. Recent updates on social media were posted by her regarding her fight camp.
Esparza was taken to the hospital after the accident. She was later diagnosed with nerve damage. Although she was charged more than $30,000 in hospital, she resolved to continue fighting. She fought again the following year against Maya Hamasaki in the Invicta FC 7 card. Claudia Gadelha was her opponent. Gadelha withdrew because of stomach illness.
Rose Namajunas beat her to the title twice.
Rose Namajunas, Carla Esparza and Carla Esparza were both women's lightweight champions in the past and have fought each other twice for titles. Namajunas won and kept the title in April. The bout was close throughout, but neither fighter landed a knockout. The official scorecards were 48-47 in favor of Esparza.
Esparza had a record of 3-3 in 29 prior to this title fight. However, her win over Virna Jandiroba on April 2019 opened the door for a five-fight winning streak. She went on to beat Yan Xiaonan in a COVID-quiet UFC APEX event in Las Vegas, finishing in under eight minutes. In June 2019, she defended her title again by knockout in the first round.