Women's Strawweight

Carla Esparza

Last fought: Oct 2024

RECORD

Pro

20-8-0

UFC

10-6-0

Age

Height

5'1"

Weight

115 lbs

Reach

63"

Stance

Orthodox

Career Analytics

Advanced Metric	Career
Fight Shape
Avg Fight Time	14:01
Fight Completion Rate	80.1%
Avg Rounds per Fight	2.80
% Fights Inside the Distance	31.2%
Strength of Schedule
Opponent UFC Record (all, at fight time)	59-25 (70.2%)
Opponent UFC Record (among wins)	33-10 (76.7%)
Opponent UFC Record (among losses)	26-15 (63.4%)
Positional Profile
% Time at Distance (approx.)	57.2%
% Time in Control	28.3%
% Time Controlled	14.5%
Control Rate of Clinch/Ground Time	66.1%
Distance Striking
Distance Sig. Strikes Landed / Min	2.18
Distance Sig. Strikes Absorbed / Min	3.19
Distance Striking Differential / Min	-1.01
Distance Strike Accuracy	29.9%
Distance Strike Defense	62.9%
Power & Pressure
KDs per 100 Power Strikes Landed	0.00
Knocked Down per 100 Absorbed	0.00
TD Attempts per 5 Distance Min	5.26
TDs Faced per 5 Distance Min	1.40
Sub Attempts per 15 Control Min	0.94
Fade Index (R3 pace / R1 pace)	1.67

All metrics are UFC fights only. Methodology →

Where the Strikes Land

Share of landed significant strikes by target

Where the Fight Happens

Share of total fight time by position

Cumulative Significant Strikes vs the Women's Strawweight field

Carla Esparza League percentile bands (p5–p95) League median

The shaded bands are the league’s middle range: the darker center covers the 25th–75th percentile of fighters, the lighter outer zones extend to the 5th and 95th — computed only over fighters whose careers reached each minute mark. How these are calculated →

Career Stats

Statistic	Carla Esparza
Striking
Sig. Strike Accuracy	39.5%
Sig. Strikes Landed/min	2.2
Sig. Strikes Absorbed/min	2.9
Strike Differential	-0.7/min
Grappling
Takedown Accuracy	36.3%
Takedown Defense	47.2%
Takedowns Landed/15min	3.3
Submission Attempts/15min	0.3
Control Time/15min	4:14
Finishing Ability
KO/TKO % of Wins	10.0%
Submission % of Wins	10.0%
Decision % of Wins	80.0%
Avg Fight Time	14:01
Secondary Stats
Knockdowns/15min	0.0
Reversals/15min	0.3

Last 5 Averages

Statistic	Last 5 Fights
Sig. Strike Accuracy	35.4%
Sig. Strikes Landed/min	2.0
Sig. Strikes Absorbed/min	2.9
Takedown Accuracy	44.1%
Takedown Defense	0.0%
Control Time/Fight	4:13

Fight History

LOSS

vs. Tecia Pennington

UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr. • Oct 2024Women's Strawweight

Decision (Unanimous) • Rd 3, 5:00

Carla Esparza39/12332%TD 4/7Ctrl 3:40

Tecia Pennington80/15053%TD 0/0Ctrl 0:00

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Carla Esparza	6/26	23%	1/3	2:52	—
	Tecia Pennington	13/38	34%	0/0	0:00	—

R2	Carla Esparza	12/43	28%	2/3	0:29	—
	Tecia Pennington	31/55	56%	0/0	0:00	—

R3	Carla Esparza	21/54	39%	1/1	0:19	—
	Tecia Pennington	36/57	63%	0/0	0:00	—

LOSS

vs. Zhang Weili

UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira • Nov 2022Women's StrawweightTITLE

Submission (Rear Naked Choke) • Rd 2, 1:05

Carla Esparza6/3219%TD 1/4Ctrl 0:55

Zhang Weili37/7847%TD 0/0Ctrl 1:30

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Carla Esparza	5/27	19%	1/3	0:53	—
	Zhang Weili	33/65	51%	0/0	1:00	—

R2	Carla Esparza	1/5	20%	0/1	0:02	—
	Zhang Weili	4/13	31%	0/0	0:30	—

WIN

vs. Rose Namajunas

UFC 274: Oliveira vs. Gaethje • May 2022Women's StrawweightTITLE

Decision (Split) • Rd 5, 5:00

Carla Esparza30/13323%TD 2/11Ctrl 0:22

Rose Namajunas37/13627%TD 1/1Ctrl 0:10

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Carla Esparza	4/19	21%	0/0	0:00	—
	Rose Namajunas	4/19	21%	0/0	0:00	—

R2	Carla Esparza	4/22	18%	0/1	0:00	—
	Rose Namajunas	3/14	21%	0/0	0:00	—

R3	Carla Esparza	9/32	28%	0/3	0:02	—
	Rose Namajunas	11/36	31%	0/0	0:00	—

R4	Carla Esparza	8/29	28%	2/5	0:20	—
	Rose Namajunas	6/28	21%	0/0	0:02	—

R5	Carla Esparza	5/31	16%	0/2	0:00	—
	Rose Namajunas	13/39	33%	1/1	0:08	—

WIN

vs. Yan Xiaonan

UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt • May 2021Women's Strawweight

KO/TKO (Punches) • Rd 2, 2:58

Carla Esparza27/3382%TD 3/3Ctrl 7:18

Yan Xiaonan5/1145%TD 0/0Ctrl 0:00

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Carla Esparza	13/15	87%	2/2	4:52	—
	Yan Xiaonan	2/5	40%	0/0	0:00	—

R2	Carla Esparza	14/18	78%	1/1	2:26	—
	Yan Xiaonan	3/6	50%	0/0	0:00	—

WIN

vs. Marina Rodriguez

UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till • Jul 2020Women's Strawweight

Decision (Split) • Rd 3, 5:00

Carla Esparza33/6055%TD 5/9Ctrl 8:54

Marina Rodriguez40/7653%TD 0/0Ctrl 1:04

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Carla Esparza	8/12	67%	1/2	3:21	—
	Marina Rodriguez	20/33	61%	0/0	0:50	—

R2	Carla Esparza	7/19	37%	1/3	2:28	—
	Marina Rodriguez	14/29	48%	0/0	0:14	—

R3	Carla Esparza	18/29	62%	3/4	3:05	—
	Marina Rodriguez	6/14	43%	0/0	0:00	—

WIN

vs. Michelle Waterson-Gomez

UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje • May 2020Women's Strawweight

Decision (Split) • Rd 3, 5:00

Carla Esparza45/10344%TD 1/10Ctrl 0:46

Michelle Waterson-Gomez44/9845%TD 0/0Ctrl 0:00

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Carla Esparza	5/18	28%	1/1	0:35	—
	Michelle Waterson-Gomez	9/28	32%	0/0	0:00	—

R2	Carla Esparza	15/31	48%	0/3	0:00	—
	Michelle Waterson-Gomez	13/26	50%	0/0	0:00	—

R3	Carla Esparza	25/54	46%	0/6	0:11	—
	Michelle Waterson-Gomez	22/44	50%	0/0	0:00	—

WIN

vs. Alexa Grasso

UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs. Stephens • Sep 2019Women's Strawweight

Decision (Majority) • Rd 3, 5:00

Carla Esparza44/8055%TD 4/11Ctrl 7:12

Alexa Grasso45/10344%TD 0/1Ctrl 0:19

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Carla Esparza	18/36	50%	2/4	1:31	—
	Alexa Grasso	17/41	41%	0/1	0:10	—

R2	Carla Esparza	13/18	72%	2/3	3:25	—
	Alexa Grasso	6/20	30%	0/0	0:05	—

R3	Carla Esparza	13/26	50%	0/4	2:16	—
	Alexa Grasso	22/42	52%	0/0	0:04	—

WIN

vs. Virna Jandiroba

UFC Fight Night: Jacare vs. Hermansson • Apr 2019Women's Strawweight

Decision (Unanimous) • Rd 3, 5:00

Carla Esparza25/5149%TD 4/10Ctrl 5:25

Virna Jandiroba17/3746%TD 3/9Ctrl 3:48

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Carla Esparza	8/12	67%	2/2	2:37	—
	Virna Jandiroba	7/10	70%	1/4	0:43	—

R2	Carla Esparza	9/20	45%	1/6	0:43	—
	Virna Jandiroba	7/15	47%	1/3	1:42	—

R3	Carla Esparza	8/19	42%	1/2	2:05	—
	Virna Jandiroba	3/12	25%	1/2	1:23	—

LOSS

vs. Tatiana Suarez

UFC 228: Woodley vs. Till • Sep 2018Women's Strawweight

KO/TKO (Punches) • Rd 3, 4:33

Carla Esparza6/1060%TD 0/2Ctrl 0:04

Tatiana Suarez82/9884%TD 9/11Ctrl 12:58

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Carla Esparza	0/1	0%	0/0	0:00	—
	Tatiana Suarez	34/41	83%	3/3	4:37	—

R2	Carla Esparza	5/6	83%	0/1	0:04	—
	Tatiana Suarez	15/17	88%	4/6	4:11	—

R3	Carla Esparza	1/3	33%	0/1	0:00	—
	Tatiana Suarez	33/40	82%	2/2	4:10	—

LOSS

vs. Claudia Gadelha

UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2 • Jun 2018Women's Strawweight

Decision (Split) • Rd 3, 5:00

Carla Esparza43/10342%TD 2/4Ctrl 3:36

Claudia Gadelha26/6441%TD 4/5Ctrl 5:00

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Carla Esparza	13/36	36%	0/2	1:14	—
	Claudia Gadelha	13/28	46%	1/1	0:59	—

R2	Carla Esparza	14/27	52%	1/1	1:16	—
	Claudia Gadelha	4/15	27%	2/3	2:44	—

R3	Carla Esparza	16/40	40%	1/1	1:06	—
	Claudia Gadelha	9/21	43%	1/1	1:17	—

WIN

vs. Cynthia Calvillo

UFC 219: Cyborg vs. Holm • Dec 2017Women's Strawweight

Decision (Unanimous) • Rd 3, 5:00

Carla Esparza48/13835%TD 2/9Ctrl 0:22

Cynthia Calvillo38/11234%TD 1/3Ctrl 4:21

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Carla Esparza	6/19	32%	0/0	0:12	—
	Cynthia Calvillo	11/17	65%	1/1	3:51	—

R2	Carla Esparza	20/47	43%	2/4	0:09	—
	Cynthia Calvillo	16/40	40%	0/1	0:00	—

R3	Carla Esparza	22/72	31%	0/5	0:01	—
	Cynthia Calvillo	11/55	20%	0/1	0:30	—

WIN

vs. Maryna Moroz

UFC Fight Night: Chiesa vs. Lee • Jun 2017Women's Strawweight

Decision (Unanimous) • Rd 3, 5:00

Carla Esparza40/9542%TD 6/14Ctrl 6:22

Maryna Moroz38/11932%TD 0/0Ctrl 0:00

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Carla Esparza	11/31	35%	1/3	2:15	—
	Maryna Moroz	13/36	36%	0/0	0:00	—

R2	Carla Esparza	18/32	56%	1/5	1:45	—
	Maryna Moroz	15/44	34%	0/0	0:00	—

R3	Carla Esparza	11/32	34%	4/6	2:22	—
	Maryna Moroz	10/39	26%	0/0	0:00	—

LOSS

vs. Randa Markos

UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Browne • Feb 2017Women's Strawweight

Decision (Split) • Rd 3, 5:00

Carla Esparza32/13224%TD 4/10Ctrl 2:45

Randa Markos48/11044%TD 0/0Ctrl 0:18

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Carla Esparza	10/29	34%	1/1	1:15	—
	Randa Markos	26/49	53%	0/0	0:14	—

R2	Carla Esparza	13/51	25%	1/1	1:06	—
	Randa Markos	10/25	40%	0/0	0:04	—

R3	Carla Esparza	9/52	17%	2/8	0:24	—
	Randa Markos	12/36	33%	0/0	0:00	—

WIN

vs. Juliana Lima

UFC 197: Jones vs Saint Preux • Apr 2016Women's Strawweight

Decision (Unanimous) • Rd 3, 5:00

Carla Esparza28/4267%TD 5/7Ctrl 9:35

Juliana Lima26/4360%TD 0/3Ctrl 2:15

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Carla Esparza	7/13	54%	1/1	3:20	—
	Juliana Lima	10/15	67%	0/2	0:26	—

R2	Carla Esparza	5/11	45%	1/3	3:28	—
	Juliana Lima	8/16	50%	0/1	0:28	—

R3	Carla Esparza	16/18	89%	3/3	2:47	—
	Juliana Lima	8/12	67%	0/0	1:21	—

LOSS

vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk

UFC 185: Pettis vs Dos Anjos • Mar 2015Women's StrawweightTITLE

KO/TKO (Punches) • Rd 2, 4:17

Carla Esparza4/2218%TD 1/17Ctrl 1:09

Joanna Jedrzejczyk53/10550%TD 0/0Ctrl 0:29

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Carla Esparza	3/12	25%	1/9	0:49	—
	Joanna Jedrzejczyk	11/41	27%	0/0	0:05	—

R2	Carla Esparza	1/10	10%	0/8	0:20	—
	Joanna Jedrzejczyk	42/64	66%	0/0	0:24	—

WIN

vs. Rose Namajunas

The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned Finale • Dec 2014Women's StrawweightTITLE

Submission (Rear Naked Choke) • Rd 3, 1:26

Carla Esparza42/9047%TD 5/7Ctrl 5:03

Rose Namajunas28/7239%TD 1/3Ctrl 0:23

▼ Rounds

Rnd	Fighter	Sig Str	Acc	TD	Ctrl	KD
R1	Carla Esparza	19/54	35%	3/4	0:41	—
	Rose Namajunas	18/47	38%	1/2	0:18	—

R2	Carla Esparza	19/31	61%	1/2	3:09	—
	Rose Namajunas	9/23	39%	0/1	0:05	—

R3	Carla Esparza	4/5	80%	1/1	1:13	—
	Rose Namajunas	1/2	50%	0/0	0:00	—

Last updated: 2026-08-22 | Data source: UFCStats.com