Compare Carla Esparza vs Holly Holm — UFC matchup breakdown
Tale of the Tape
The biometric deltas where one side genuinely has an edge.
Activity & layoff
The recency dimension Tale of the Tape doesn't carry. How active each fighter has been, and how that compares to active peers in their division.
- Holly has 5 months more layoff
Division percentiles below rank both fighters against the Strawweight roster (79 fighters). Carla Esparza fights at Strawweight; Holly Holm at Bantamweight — Holly Holm’s percentiles are measured against a division they don’t compete in, so read them with that in mind.
Recent form
Last five pro bouts (non-UFC fights dashed + tagged), current trajectory, and the level of opposition going into this matchup.
Schedule Score
Who they've faced × what they've done. Composite + components compared head-to-head, percentile-ranked against every UFC fighter w/ ≥3 resolved bouts.
Per-tier records + bout-by-bout
| Tier | Carla Esparza | Holly Holm |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | 2-2 | 3-3 |
| Top-5 | 3-2 | 2-2, 1 NC |
| Top-15 | 5-2 | 2-0 |
| Cross-div ranked | — | 0-1 |
| Title-fight challenger | — | 0-1 |
| Building | — | 1-0 |
- L vs Tecia Pennington57Oct 5, 2024 · Top-15
- L vs Zhang Weili#297Nov 12, 2022 · Champion
- W vs Rose NamajunasCHAMP100May 7, 2022 · Champion
- W vs Yan Xiaonan#391May 22, 2021 · Top-5
- W vs Marina Rodriguez#982Jul 25, 2020 · Top-5
- W vs Michelle Waterson-Gomez55May 9, 2020 · Top-15
- W vs Alexa Grasso#975Sep 21, 2019 · Top-15
- W vs Virna Jandiroba65Apr 27, 2019 · Top-5
- L vs Tatiana Suarez#986Sep 8, 2018 · Top-5
- L vs Claudia Gadelha#388Jun 9, 2018 · Top-5
- W vs Cynthia Calvillo#678Dec 30, 2017 · Top-15
- W vs Maryna Moroz#1072Jun 25, 2017 · Top-15
- L vs Randa Markos#1371Feb 19, 2017 · Top-15
- W vs Juliana Lima#1465Apr 23, 2016 · Top-15
- L vs Joanna Jedrzejczyk#197Mar 14, 2015 · Champion
- W vs Rose Namajunas83Dec 12, 2014 · Champion
- L vs Kayla Harrison68Apr 13, 2024 · Champion
- NC vs Mayra Bueno Silva#1081Jul 15, 2023 · Top-5
- W vs Yana Santos#677Mar 25, 2023 · Top-5
- L vs Ketlen Vieira#584May 21, 2022 · Top-5
- W vs Irene Aldana#683Oct 3, 2020 · Top-5
- W vs Raquel Pennington#592Jan 18, 2020 · Champion
- L vs Amanda NunesCHAMP100Jul 6, 2019 · Champion
- W vs Megan Anderson15Jun 9, 2018 · Building
- L vs Cristiane Justino50Dec 30, 2017 · Title-fight challenger
- W vs Bethe Correia#1171Jun 17, 2017 · Top-15
- L vs Germaine de Randamie45Feb 11, 2017 · Cross-div ranked
- L vs Valentina Shevchenko#789Jul 23, 2016 · Top-5
- L vs Miesha Tate#296Mar 5, 2016 · Champion
- W vs Ronda RouseyCHAMP100Nov 14, 2015 · Champion
- W vs Marion Reneau#1172Jul 15, 2015 · Top-15
- W vs Raquel Pennington#1288Feb 28, 2015 · Champion
All figures are 0–100 ratings (shown as %), not percentages of anything literal. Schedule strength = the average quality of every UFC opponent faced (win or lose). Win quality = the average quality of the opponents actually beaten. The composite Schedule Score combines schedule strength (65%) with win quality (35%). Per-bout opponent quality is scored on rank-at-time-of-fight (champion 100, ranks 1–5 = 90→78, ranks 6–15 = 75→60), with cross-division and P4P signals layered on, falling back to opponent UFC record-at-time for unranked opponents. For fighters with limited UFC experience the headline is held toward a rookie baseline, so debut / low-sample fighters read lower than established names. UFC ranking data is sparse before December 2018, so legacy-era fighters score from record-at-time when ranks are missing.
Career splits
Striking matchup
Each fighter's offense mapped against the other's defense — where one attacks meets where the other gets hit, across head, body, and leg. Per 15 minutes of UFC fight time.
Holm has the striking edge (+11).
Where Esparza attacks (green = high volume) vs where Holm gets hit (red = vulnerable) — Esparza’s green zones meeting Holm’s red zones are the openings.
- Head74%—363
- Body14%—71
- Leg12%—58
Color = division rank · green elite → red low · % = share of strikes
- Head53%—385
- Body27%—199
- Leg20%—146
Color = division rank · green elite → red low · % = share absorbed · partly opponent-dependent
- Standing57%280
- Clinch13%63
- Ground30%149
- Standing71%518
- Clinch20%149
- Ground9%63
Each lane: the attacker’s strike rate (offense) vs the other’s rate absorbed (defense), graded on the division. The bar leans toward whoever wins the exchange — longer + greener = a bigger, higher-quality edge.
Full breakdown — all zones, both views
| Zone | Fighter | Landed / 15 | Accuracy | Absorbed / 15 | Career landed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Carla Esparza | 20.2 | 34% | 26.3 | 363 |
| Head | Holly Holm | 18.3 | 27% | 19.5 | 362 |
| Body | Carla Esparza | 4.0 | 70% | 5.0 | 71 |
| Body | Holly Holm | 11.9 | 66% | 10.1 | 236 |
| Leg | Carla Esparza | 3.2 | 78% | 4.5 | 58 |
| Leg | Holly Holm | 9.1 | 72% | 7.4 | 180 |
Per-15-minute rates are sourced from UFCStats fight totals across each fighter’s UFC career. Division percentile is computed against every UFC fighter who has competed in this weight class with at least two recorded bouts. Lower “absorbed” values are better — the percentile is inverted so “top of division” always means better outcome.
Grappling matchup
Takedowns, submission threat, and control. Per 15 minutes of UFC fight time, with takedown defense as a percentage of opponent attempts stopped.
Each metric graded on the division — the bar leans toward whoever wins that part of the grappling exchange (longer + greener = a bigger edge).
Full breakdown — career grappling totals
| Metric | Carla Esparza | Holly Holm |
|---|---|---|
| Takedowns landed / 15career takedowns | 3.349 | 0.915 |
| Takedown accuracycareer landed / attempted | 36%49 / 135 | 31%15 / 49 |
| Takedown defensecareer stopped / faced | 47%17 / 36 | 76%29 / 38 |
| Submission attempts / 15career attempts | 0.34 | 0.11 |
| Control time / 15 (min)career total | 4.2 min63:28 | 3.5 min58:49 |
| Time controlled by opponent / 15 (min)career total | 2.2 min32:35 | 1.1 min18:27 |
All rates computed from UFCStats fight totals across each fighter’s UFC career. Takedown defense = opponent attempts stopped ÷ opponent total attempts. Control time figures are minutes the fighter spent in a dominant position per 15 minutes of fight time. Accuracy under 8 career attempts is shown raw and ungraded — too small a sample to rate against the division.
Finishing & durability
How often each fighter ends fights early — and how often they get put away. Outcomes view, not per-minute output.
When their fights end
every pro finish on the fight clockFinish & durability rates
Full professional career
Full method breakdown
| Outcome | Carla Esparza | Holly Holm |
|---|---|---|
| Wins | ||
| by KO / TKO | 4(21%) | 8(53%) |
| by submission | 4(21%) | 0(0%) |
| by decision | 11(58%) | 7(47%) |
| Losses | ||
| by KO / TKO | 2(25%) | 1(14%) |
| by submission | 2(25%) | 2(29%) |
| by decision | 4(50%) | 4(57%) |
Full professional career method splits, graded against the full-pro division distribution. Career KO losses are the total — clean knockouts and cut/injury stoppages can’t be separated outside the UFC corpus. Finish-time pace is UFC-only.
KO history
UFC fights only — knockout power and chin durability, head-to-head, then when the last finish landed, and on whom.
- Last time KO'dvs Tatiana Suarez7y 9mo agoUFC 228: Woodley vs. Till · Sep 8, 2018 · R3 · 4:33
- Last time submittedvs Zhang Weili3y 7mo agoUFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira · Nov 12, 2022 · R2 · 1:05
- Last time KO'dvs Amanda Nunes6y 11mo agoUFC 239: Jones vs. Santos · Jul 6, 2019 · R1 · 4:10
- Last time submittedvs Kayla Harrison2y 2mo agoUFC 300: Pereira vs. Hill · Apr 13, 2024 · R2 · 1:47
Pace & fade
How each fighter's work rate holds up as a fight wears on — round-by-round output (striking, takedown attempts, and control time combined), and whether they fade. The fade % compares round-3 output to round 1 over bouts that reached the third round.
No clear cardio edge — Esparza builds (+16% per round through round 3) and Holm builds (+12% per round through round 5). Within fights that reached round 3, Esparza lifts to 150% of round-1 output by round 3, Holm 139%.
Faded points are drawn from a single bout that reached that round, so they’re less reliable than the solid points averaged over many fights.
Rounds backed by fewer than 2 bouts are drawn smaller and dimmed with an n= count — a deep round seen in one or two fights is a thin sample, not a settled rate. Per-round bout counts are in the breakdown below.
Full per-round breakdown — both fighters
What drives the pace · per round
The composite output line above blends these three inputs. Splitting them out shows whether a fighter’s work rate is built on striking volume, takedown pressure, or top control — and which input fades.
| Round | Fighter | Output / min | Sig landed / min | Sig absorbed / min | TD att / min | Control | Bouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Carla Esparza | 4.4 | 1.7 | 3.0 | 0.46 | 33% | 16 |
| R1 | Holly Holm | 3.6 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 0.13 | 21% | 15 |
| R2 | Carla Esparza | 5.3 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 0.63 | 28% | 16 |
| R2 | Holly Holm | 4.5 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 0.18 | 29% | 14 |
| R3 | Carla Esparza | 6.1 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 0.74 | 26% | 13 |
| R3 | Holly Holm | 5.0 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 0.30 | 26% | 12 |
| R4 | Carla Esparza | 4.9 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1.00 | 7% | 1 |
| R4 | Holly Holm | 5.1 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 0.17 | 14% | 6 |
| R5 | Carla Esparza | 2.2 | 1.0 | 2.6 | 0.40 | 0% | 1 |
| R5 | Holly Holm | 6.3 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 0.21 | 21% | 6 |
Output / minis the headline work rate — significant strikes landed, plus 3 per takedown attempt, plus one per 15 seconds of control — so a takedown-and-grind round isn’t scored as idle the way bare striking volume would. The remaining columns are its components. Per-round rates use UFCStats per-round data (available for ~95% of bouts since 2008). Each round’s rates are averaged only over bouts that reached that round, so the bout count shrinks as rounds deepen. The final round of a finished fight is pro-rated by its actual length — a 2:30 stoppage counts as 2.5 minutes, not five — so an early finish doesn’t distort the per-minute pace.