Who is Carla Esparza? | The US Sun
Olivia House
Published Sep 16, 2026
UFC fighter Carla Esparza is known for her powerful wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.
On May 7, 2022, she defeated champion, Rose Namajunas, at the UFC 274 in Phoenix, Arizona.

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Who is Carla Esparza?
Carla Kristen Esparza, 34, was born on October 10, 1987, in Torrance, California.
She first started wrestling during her junior year in high school for the varsity team.
Esparza is a professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
She has won 10 UFC wins out of a total 14 fights, placing her as number four on the list, according to her UFC records.
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Esparza currently has a winning streak of 6, placing her second on the streak list.
Is Carla Esparza married?
Esparza is currently engaged to her fiancé, Matthew Lomeli, who is a doctor.
She and Matt plan to get married on May 15, 2022, a week after her UFC fight with Namajunas.
However skeptical she was about moving her wedding ceremony, Esparza's final decision to keep the date came as a result of her fiancé's words of encouragement.
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Esparza took to Instagram to share her decision with fans:
"Fight and wedding are one week apart," she wrote.
"When I was offered this fight date, I immediately said yes. There was no hesitation. This fight would take priority over everything, I was even willing to change my wedding date knowing that my fiancé, friends, and family would understand.
"Well, since the wedding is the week after the fight, I had a choice to make. And to be honest, I was really struggling with the decision of whether or not to change my wedding date.
"Everyone wants to look and feel beautiful on their wedding day. I went to my fiancé, and what he told me sealed my decision.
"He said, 'honey, if you have bumps or bruises, that’s perfectly ok with me, I knew what I signed up for when I asked a fighter to marry me. It’s part of your job. I think you are so beautiful, but I am not marrying you just for your beauty. I’m marrying you for <insert mushy stuff lol>.'
"I am just so grateful to have this support from my amazing fiancé Matt. Te amo mi amor, can’t wait to marry you," she ended.
The pair will spend their honeymoon in Bora Bora.

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What was Carla Esparza's latest win?
On May 7, 2022, Esparza won against Rose Namajunas, 29, at the UFC 274.
With the triumph came Esparza's reclaim of the title she lost in 2015.
The event was held in Phoenix and ESPN commentator Daniel Cormier used the words "weird" and "uncomfortable" to describe the fight between the two women.
In an interview with MMA Fighting, Esparza talked about how the fight might affect her wedding day:
“Planning a wedding, just with itself is super stressful and it’s a lot of work and getting ready for a fight is the same, especially a title fight. It’s definitely a lot," she told the outlet.
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“I’ve had my face beat up even after a jiu-jitsu match, like cut pretty bad. You never know what’s going to happen in a fight.
"You could be pretty messed up and no bride wants to look all swollen and beaten up on her wedding day. She wants to look and feel beautiful. It was a decision I kind of struggled with a little bit.”
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