Fights on Tap: Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza 2 among 6 UFC bouts announced

Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Fights on Tap is a weekly roundup of all the fights booked in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.

The UFC returned to London for the first time in three years and delivered an ‘Event of the Year’ candidate on Saturday night. With the event now over, we can preview what comes next on the schedule. The promotion either announced or finalized six fights this week, and a long-awaited rematch at strawweight has been confirmed.

Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza first met for the inaugural strawweight championship at The Ultimate Fighter 20 finale, where ‘Thug’ was submitted by ‘The Cookie Monster’ via third-round rear-naked choke. Seven years later, they fight again with gold on the line. The rematch will serve as the co-main event of UFC 274 scheduled to take place on May 7 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Namajunas began her second reign as strawweight champion with a first-round knockout of Zhang Weili at UFC 261 this past April. An immediate rematch with Weili was created, and Namajunas retained by way of unanimous decision at UFC 268. Meanwhile, Esparza earned her championship opportunity with five consecutive wins, including a ‘Performance of the Night’ awarded second-round TKO of Yan Xiaonan in her most recent appearance.

UFC 273 — April 9

Dricus Du Plessis vs. Anthony Hernandez — middleweight

UFC Fight Night — April 16

Pat Sabatini vs. T.J. Laramie — featherweight

UFC 274 — May 7

Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza — women’s strawweight

UFC Fight Night — May 21

Chidi Njokuani vs. Duško Todorović — middleweight

UFC 275 — June 11

Brendan Allen vs. Jacob Malkoun — middleweight

UFC 276 — July 2

Miesha Tate vs. Lauren Murphy — women’s flyweight*

*Tate vs. Murphy was already finalized, but it shifted from UFC on ESPN+ 67 to UFC 276

Announced Bellator fights:

Bellator 278 — April 22

Josh Hill vs. Enrique Barzola — bantamweight

Cee Jay Hamilton vs. Jared Scoggins — bantamweight

Bellator 279 — April 23

Emmanuel Sanchez vs. Yancy Medeiros — lightweight

Kai Kamaka III vs. Justin Gonzalez — featherweight

Bellator Paris — May 6

Pedro Carvalho vs. Piotr Niedzielski — featherweight

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About the author

Kristen King

Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016, getting her start with outlets such as FanSided, MyMMANews and MMA-Prospects. She joined the BE team in 2020, covering a mix of news, events and injuries. In her time with BE, Kristen has created ‘Fright of the Night,’ a series that highlights some of the worst injuries in the sport.