Two-time UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza hung up her gloves on Saturday night after losing a close decision in her final fight.
The legendary 115lb star, known to fans as ‘Cookie Monster’, was defeated by Unanimous Decision against Tecia Pennington at UFC 307 in the final fight of a 27-fight career. She had made her plan known prior to fight night, and announced it weeks ahead of the event.
But it still made for an emotional moment as she laid down her gloves in the octagon in front of the Salt Lake City crowd. A former title holder in multiple organizations, Esparza has been fighting professionally since before women were allowed in the UFC.
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Former strawweight world champion Carla Esparza loses to Tecia Pennington at UFC 307
After a lengthy career spanning almost a decade-and-a-half, Carla Esparza decided to call it a day following her latest UFC outing. She had been out of action for almost two years after losing her belt to Weili Zhang in 2022, during which time she had been focusing on her family.
Esparza gave birth to her first child with husband Matthew Lomeli in September of last year, and she had been taking time to recover over the following year. And while she was keen to get back in fight shape once more, she planned to hang up her gloves shortly after.
She ended up being booked to face Pennington, who had struggled to two split decision wins in her last few outings. The pair met during their season of The Ultimate Fighter back in 2014, but that two-round bout ended in controversy as Esparza took a rare Majority Decision.
Pennington appeared to be landing the bigger strikes in the first round, and Esparza seemed hurt at one point halfway through the opening stanza. But the former champion got her down, and took control as the seconds ticked away before the bell.
A renowned wrestler, Esparza struggled to get the takedown in the second as she was tagged multiple times. But as the pair began to really trade and Pennington began to land impactful shots, she did get that elusive takedown – albeit with limited damage.
For the final time in her life, Esparza headed to the corner ahead of the third, with the story of the bout itself being Pennington’s impressive leg kicks. And with seconds to go, she finally got her takedown and ended her illustrious career in a top position.
The decision didn’t go Esparza’s way, with Pennington taking two 29-28 scorecards and one wide 30-27.
Carla Esparza retires with emotional speech after 14-year career
The crowd gave Esparza a big reception following her defeat, with many booing Pennington after the controversial scorecards. Even a respectful interview, the winner was booed away before the former champion brought her son into the octagon in a Cookie Monster costume to a rousing reception.
“You know what, thank you guys so much, this crowd was awesome,” she told Joe Rogan after the fact. “Can’t leave it to the judges, I’ll have to go back and watch it. Proud to fight with a veteran from TUF.”
Esparza was then shown a tribute video to her career, after which she choked back tears before telling Rogan: “It’s been an amazing journey this last 15 years. I’ve fought the best of the best and it’s not always easy, but I love this sport, thank you guys so much.”
She then thanked her coaching team and family as she was given the chance to lay down her gloves. Rogan and broadcast partner Daniel Cormier admitted that they were almost moved to tears after the fact, before both claiming the result was a robbery.
Carla Esparza announced plans to retire before UFC 307 fight
The retirement announcement from Esparza was not much of a shock to fight fans, given she had confirmed plans to hang up the gloves before the fight. During media day she made a point that the result wouldn’t matter, and that she plans to stick to her decision unlike many other fighters.
“Most definitely,” she told the press when asked how serious she was about planning to retire on fight night. “No matter the outcome; one-minute finish, I think this is it for me. I’m kind of ready to move on to that next chapter in life, just staying home with my son, maybe growing a bigger family.
“It’s going to be a little bit hard to get back in the octagon, big belly like that… I’m really just trying to enjoy the moment and kind of have a more carefree attitude and just have fun with everyone – normally, I would just be a hermit in my room and super focused.
“But now I’m just enjoying every aspect of it, trying to take more pictures, document a little bit more. I’m doing an after-party and having all my friends that are coming out for lunch after weigh-ins, just having fun and appreciating the people and the experience of fight week.”
Carla Esparza leaves enviable legacy behind after 14-year career
California native Esparza is one of the original names in women’s MMA, and her career as a top fighter pre-dates even having female athletes in the UFC. When she was defeating Bec Rawlings for the Invicta belt in January 2013, the sport’s biggest promotion were still weeks away from their first women’s bout.
Esparza ended up arriving in the UFC as a double champ of sorts. She won The Ultimate Fighter season 20, which also culminated in a strawweight world champion being crowned, by taking a Rear Naked Choke win in the third round of her meeting with Rose Namajunas.
She quickly lost that belt to Joanna Jedrzejczyk, but she stuck with it and through a rough up-and-down journey in the octagon, she got back to contention in 2022. There, she faced Namajunas again and landed a split decision victory that saw her reclaim the title eight years on from her first victory.
“I would say the biggest thing I want people to remember from my story is never count yourself out,” she said this week. “You can fall, but you can always build your way back up, and if you put enough work in and you want it enough, you can always come back better.”
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