More than seven years removed from the first ever UFC women’s strawweight championship, Rose Namajunas (11-4) and Carla Esparza (18-6) are going to run it back.
MMA Fighting confirmed an initial report from Sports Illustrated that Namajunas will defend her title against Esparza in the co-main event of UFC 274 on May 7th. Esparza capped off season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter by choking out Namajunas to become the inaugural UFC champ at 115 lbs way back in December 2014.
Namajunas is the only woman to be a two-time UFC champion. ‘Thug’ Rose won the belt the first time in a stunning upset KO of Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217 in 2017.