Carla Esparza

Carla Esparza beat Rose Namajunas for the UFC strawweight title in a fight where very little happened across five rounds.

Ultimately, Esparza, 34, moved to 2-0 over Namajunas -- and it's unclear whether the sport would even allow a third matchup to happen. It was a fight in which neither woman appeared to have any confidence in her skill set. A third had it for Namajunas 48-47.

Carla Esparza is the new strawweight champion after eking out a split decision win over Rose Namajunas in one of the worst fights of all time at UFC 2.

The first two rounds were completely uneventful. Namajunas stole the final round as she landed more strikes and a very late takedown before both fighters were met with a chorus of boos when the fight ended. ‘The Cookie Monster’ temporarily got the champ to the floor but ‘Thug Rose’ quickly popped back up to her feet and got off a little bit of striking offence.

In the co-main event of UFC 274 we saw a rematch of the very first strawweight title fight in the promotion's history. The champion "Thug"...

Namajunas lands a couple of nice strikes but then Esparza gets in and slams her to the ground. Esparza gets in and gets shrugged off but lands a nice kick to the body. Nice connection from Namajunas and then she lands a 1-2, but it wasn’t super clean. Namajunas lands a nice right hand over the top. Entering the final round at UFC 274 and whoever wins this round likely wins the fight but who the hell knows. Entering the fourth at UFC 274 and I think Esparza might be a couple of rounds ahead. Esparza tries blitzing but catches a counter from the champion. Nothing lands and Namajunas lands a jab. Namajunas attempts to throw her jab, but it’s Esparza that lands a nice left hook. The second starts and Esparza tries with a 1-2, but doesn’t land. Entering the third at UFC 274 and that might have been the most uneventful two rounds of a title fight in history. Esparza tries a combination, but again, well short of the mark.

Carla Esparza reclaimed the UFC strawweight title by defeating Rose Namajunas at UFC 274 at Footprint Center in Phoenix.

On the other end, Namajunas’ second title reign and three-fight win streak come to an end. Esparza ran up a five-fight win streak over Virna Jandriroba, Alexa Grasso, Michelle Waterson, Marina Rodriguez, and Yan Xiaonan to earn another crack at gold, and walked away with her goal accomplished. The dissenting judge, Eric Colon saw the bout for Namajunas with a score of 48-47. Esparza completed a takedown in the fourth round and took the back of Namajunas for the most significant moment of the fight up to that point. Esparza looked for a takedown early in the second, but Namajunas kept things standing. A few strikes were offered from both, but virtually nothing of significance landed in the first three minutes.

Follow the live blog for Rose Namajuna vs. Carla Esparza 2, the strawweight title fight at UFC 274 on Saturday in Phoenix.

Namajunas then reclaimed the title with a first-round KO of Zhang Weili at UFC 261, and after winning their rematch, the strawweight champion is now looking to put together a real championship legacy. Esparza finally got things back on track beginning in 2019 though, and she has now won five in a row to earn her second opportunity at UFC gold. Namajunas and Esparza met in the finals of that tournament, with Esparza submitting “Thug Rose” in the third round to claim the inaugural title.

One week before her wedding, Esparza edged strawweight champion Rose Namajunas via split decision in the UFC 274 co-main event inside Footprint Center to win ...

Namajunas, fresh off a split-decision win over former champion Weilei Zhang in November, said Esparza was the only fight that made sense, liking weighing merit and revenge. After the first round, each fighter had connected on three strikes. By the end of the fight, Namajunas had outstruck Esparza 30-23, with the advantage coming largely in the final round.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Esparza's victory over Namajunas at UFC 274. MMA Junkie. The rematch is now! Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza run ...

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Carla Esparza decided to keep her wedding planned for the same date despite fighting for the UFC strawweight title just one week ahead of the happiest day ...

“I feel that if I win the title, that is just so huge and I would be so excited for that,” Esparza said. You’ve just got to go with stuff and opportunities are going to happen, good things are going to happen for you. “It was tough preparing for that fight because she was and still is a very dangerous opponent. “I would say you’ve just got to roll with the punches in life, even during the whole pandemic, I took fights and I was like whatever. “For me, I want him to think I look beautiful on our wedding day so his opinion and his thoughts were a huge factor of my decision. That meant even with a victory on May 7, she might be walking down the aisle looking like she just went through a five-round war.

UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas (11-5) and Carla Esparza (19-6) met in a rematch in the co-main event of UFC 274 more than seven years after their first ...

Rose up and turns and reverses and they’re up and Rose lands a right hand. Carla comes in with punches and Rose lands a big right. Rose lands a glancing left and then a right. Carla charges in and Rose swings back and Carla drops a takedown and gets it but Rose is immediately back up. Steps in for a right hand that lands and now Carla shoots a takedown and has the back with Rose sitting. Rose still trying to draw Carla in to counter, but Carla not biting. And Rose lands a left. Rose throws big and misses, and Carla clinches. She gets in on it but Rose shucks it off and we’re back to the dance. Carla now stepping in a little more and lands a left hand with Rose looks to counter. Rose keeping the range and Carla content to stay outside. Carla not closing and Rose staying away.

Carla Esparza to get married next weekend with UFC strawweight belt around her dress, and says she's 'super relieved' to escape with unblemished face from ...

Check out these photos from Carla Esparza vs. Rose Namajunas at UFC 274 at Footprint Center in Phoenix.

Check out these photos from Carla Esparza’s title-winning split decision over Rose Namajunas at UFC 274 at Footprint Center in Phoenix. (Photos courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports) Carla Esparza reclaimed the UFC strawweight title by defeating Rose Namajunas at UFC 274 at Footprint Center in Phoenix. Check out these photos from Carla Esparza’s title-winning split decision over Rose Namajunas at UFC 274 at Footprint Center in Phoenix. (Photos courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports)