Carla Esparza, a mixed martial artist, is Carla Esparza. She competes in the strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She is currently UFC champion at strawweight. This is her second defense of her title, having lost her title against Cyborg at Invicta FC6: Coenen III (2013).
Carla Esparza works as a mixed-martial artist
Carla Esparza is a professional mixed martial artist from the United States. She competes as a women's fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is currently UFC Women's Strawweight Champion.
Esparza first rose to prominence in 2012 after signing with Invicta FC. Invicta FC 2, 2012, saw Sarah Schneider be defeated by Esparza. Esparza attacked Schneider with a heel hook, and quickly got on Schneider's back. She eventually resisted the urge to use a back-naked choke and controlled her opponent's head.
She is currently UFC strawweight champion
Carla Esparza is a professional fighter since 2010. She is the UFC strawweight champion and first Invicta FC champ. As of January 2021, she is ranked #4 in the UFC women's strawweight rankings. After winning the Ultimate Fighter 20 women’s strawweight tournament, Esparza made her UFC debut.
Carla Esparza isn't perfect. She has lost three times to Jessica Andrade (Claudia Gadelha), and Randa Marcos. She has also fought close calls against Marina Rodriguez, Weili Zhang, and Jessica Andrade. Given her five-fight winning streak, this could be a red flag.
She was unable to defend her title at Invicta FFC 6: Cyborg against Coenen II (2013).
Cyborg has the edge over Coenen, a determined and aggressive fighter. Despite an opening round that featured leg kicks from both fighters, Coenen was unable to stop Cyborg's relentless assault. Cyborg took down Coenen and landed a number of punches in the second round. Coenen attempted to escape while Cyborg landed a few power punches in the second round.
Cyborg is expected to defend her featherweight title against Coenen. The Strikeforce former featherweight champion won their fight by TKO. Coenen has a record of two victories in his last fights. The winner will be facing either Ayako Hamasaki, or Carla Esparza.
In 2007, she sustained nerve injury.
Carla Esparza is able to return from nerve damage that she sustained in 2007 despite her injuries. Rose Namajunas beat her to win the UFC strawweight crown in May. In November, she will be defending her title against Zhang Weili who was the previous champ. Recently, she shared an update via social media on her fight camp.
Esparza was taken to the hospital after the accident. She was later diagnosed with nerve damage. Her hospital bill was $30,000 but she agreed to fight. InvictaFC 7 was her next fight. She defeated Maya Hamasaki again. She later fought Claudia Gadelha, but Gadelha withdrew due to stomach illness.
She won two title bouts against Rose Namajunas
Rose Namajunas (formerly women's lightweight champion) and Carla Esparza (previous title fights). Namajunas won the title in April and retained it in November. The bout was close throughout, but neither fighter landed a knockout. Official scorecards showed Esparza winning 48 to 47.
Esparza was 3-3 in 29 months prior to this title fight, but her victory over Virna Jandiroba in April 2019 set the stage for a five-fight win streak. She beat Yan Xiaonan at a COVID Quiet UFC APEX in Las Vegas in eight minutes. In June 2019, her title was defended by knockout in Round 1.