CARLA ESPARZA PROFESSIONAL

However, that same year, Carla signed with Invicta Fighting Championships and fought Sarah Schneider at Invicta FC 2 and Lynn Alvarez at Invicta FC 3. In March 2012, Esparza was supposed to fight Angela Magana for the strawweight title at MEZ Sports, but the fight was cancelled due to Magana’s injuries suffered in a car accident. She returned to the tournament the following year, and competed in Xtreme Fighting Championships during XFC 15: Tribute, that same year. More opponents brought more victories, as Carla reached the finals of the Bellator Fighting Championships: Bellator Fighting Championships 24.

CARLA ESPARZA PROFESSIONAL

She then joined Team Oyama where she trained in MMA, Muay Thai and BJJ.Įsparza made her professional debut in MMA in 2010, when she fought Cassie Trost and won by a technical knockout in the third round. During her studies, Carla was an All-American with the university’s team Menlo Oaks, and also started training Jiu-Jitsu at the Gracie Academy. Having won several local and national high-school tournaments, she earned a scholarship to Menlo College where she wrestled for coach Lee Allen, a former two-time Olympian. While attending Redondo Union High School, Esparza first began training in MMA, and started wrestling for her school’s junior team. Since she is still very active in sports, her net worth continues to increase. Have you ever wondered how rich Carla Esparza is? According to sources it has been estimated that Carla Esparza’s overall net worth is over $450,000, as of February 2018, accumulated by building a successful and lucrative professional sports career, which she started in 2010. Currently she competes in the straw-weight division of the UFC. “Sometimes you’ve got put yourself out there, and what’s the saying? Come back with your shield or on it.Carla Kristen Esparza is a professional mixed martial artist (MMA) born on 10 th October 1987 in Torrance, California USA, and is known as the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Straw-weight Champion and the first Invicta FC Strawweight Champion, which makes her the best straw-weight fighter in the world.

“My opinion, you can’t fight not to lose,” said Esparza. Namajunas won that fight, but the knowledge that Esparza is better at keeping opponents on the mat than Zhang - Esparza has the UFC strawweight record of 55:15 of top position time - might have been why Namajunas adopted a defense-first approach to her rematch with Esparza.Įsparza feels Namajunas’ approach to the bout was the reason Esparza left Footprint Center in Arizona as the two-time UFC strawweight champ.

Namajunas did better with her takedown defense in the fights that followed her loss to Esparza, surrendering only four takedowns in her next nine outings, but she struggled in that department against Zhang Weili at UFC 268, giving up five takedowns on 11 attempts. Esparza went 5-for-7 on takedowns in that bout before she submitted Namajunas in the third round. The first time Esparza and Namajunas faced off, Esparza used her wrestling skills to get the win and take home the inaugural UFC strawweight title. I feel I was more comfortable fighting someone with her style, and she wasn’t as comfortable fighting someone my style.” She hasn’t fought a lot of people like me, and I’ve fought a lot of people like her. She’s fought high-level opponents, but she hasn’t fought a lot of wrestlers to get where she is. I definitely feel it was a lot of a mental thing. didn’t let off as much as she could have. “I think she went in there, and she fought, I don’t want to say with fear, but she was worried about the takedown and very focused on that and didn’t fight her game. “I definitely feel that she lost the fight to herself,” Esparza said on The MMA Hour. The now two-time champ thinks the result of the 2014 matchup between them had some influence on how Namajunas performed at UFC 274.

Newly minted UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza offered her thoughts on the outcome of her recent title-winning split-decision victory over Rose Namajunas.

Carla esparza