Whether you enjoyed the fight or not, Carla Esparza did what few have done in the UFC.
Not only did she reach the pinnacle of the sport by becoming a UFC champion, but she was able to do it twice. Only a select few have been able to reach the front of the pack once again after being knocked back. And for Esparza (19-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC), that journey took her more than seven years.
The seasoned veteran reclaimed the strawweight title this past Saturday at UFC 274 in Phoenix. She defeated Rose Namajunas by split decision in the co-main event of the card.
“It’s amazing,” Esparza told MMA Junkie. “I can’t even believe it’s real. It’s been such a big dream, and it seemed so far away a few years back, and I’m just so stoked that I’m champ now.”
Esparza first became UFC champ in December 2014. She made history by becoming the first UFC strawweight champion when she defeated a young Namajunas by submission at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale.
She would go on to lose her title in her very next fight against Joanna Jedrzejczyk three months later. It was a tough defeat as Esparza was stopped in a second-round TKO.
From there, Esparza went on a 3-3. That stretch was capped off by two consecutive defeats, with the last one being a TKO to Tatiana Suarez. Esparza had to win six consecutive fights to see herself once again as champion – a journey that took a record 2,612 days.
But despite the great achievement, Esparza’s monumental night at UFC 274 was soiled to a degree. Not much on whether or not she was the rightful winner in the split decision reading, but more on the fact that it was a very uneventful fight.
Esparza is proud of both of her victories, but she holds her first title win in a higher rank given the nature of the rematch with Namajunas, which she isn’t too happy about.
“I would say they both have a lot behind them,” Esparza said. “Making history and being the first for the strawweight division, that was such a huge moment. But coming back after almost eight years and everything that I’ve gone through and having losses, it’s almost equally as satisfying.
“I would say that the first win felt better in the moment just because I was able to really solidify, had this great fight, and was able to pull off this amazing finish. That made it more satisfying. Whereas just kind of having a fight the way this one went, it didn’t feel as satisfying after it was set and done.”
Regardless of the criticism against both Esparza and Namajunas, “Cookie Monster” keeps her head high, as reclaiming her status as champion was no easy feat.
“This solidifies my legacy,” Esparza said. “I worked so hard to get back to this title. I’m proud of myself at the end of the day.
“Throughout the years, I definitely had moments of doubt in myself. It’s hard to have losses, especially when you get finished, and believe, ‘ Hey, I’m going to get back to the title in a couple of years. Just wait and see.’ You really have to make a lot of changes from that point to evolve and come back better, and I felt that I worked really hard to do that, and that’s what got me in this spell here.”
Carla Esparza proud to reclaim UFC title after seven-year climb: ‘This solidifies my legacy’
