Watch: What happened when Carla Esparza fought UFC strawweight champion 'Thug' Rose Namajunas?
Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas competed for the inaugural UFC strawweight title back in December 2014. The fight also served as the finale for the 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter, which took place inside "The Pearl" at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Carla Esparza became the first person to win the 115 lbs strap as she submitted Rose Namajunas via rear-naked choke at 1:26 of the third round.
Namajunas started strong in the opening round, unleashing a variety of high kicks within the first few minutes. While Esparza converted one into a takedown, Namajunas was able to quickly get back to her feet and probably edged out the round.
The second round saw complete grappling dominance from Carla Esparza as she dealt some serious damage from top position, finishing the round in full mount. Rose Namajunas had no answers for Carla Esparza's wrestling as she was down on the mat within the first ten seconds of round 3. Esparza soon got Namajunas' back and, after softening her up with strikes, sunk in a rear-naked choke 1:26 into the round.
Going into her title bout with Rose Namajunas, Carla Esparza was the No.1 seed on The Ultimate Fighter. Esparza secured victories over Angela Hill, Tecia Torres and Jessica Penne to qualify for the season finale. Rose Namajunas was the No. 7 seed and beat Alex Chambers, Joanne Calderwood and Randa Markos to earn the championship fight. While 22-year-old Rose was believed to be the next big thing in women's MMA, Carla Esparza dominated 'Thug' in a stellar grappling display that also exposed several flaws in the latter's game.
Carla Esparza is eyeing a rematch against Rose Namajunas
Carla Esparza is currently riding a five-fight win streak after dispatching No.3 ranked Yan Xiaonan via TKO in the second round of their bout at UFC Vegas 27. In the post-fight interview, Esparza expressed her desire for a title shot which will also serve as a rematch against Rose Namajunas.
'Thug' Rose knocked out former champion Zhang Weili with a vicious head kick at UFC 261 to be crowned the new UFC strawweight champion.