Carla Esparza Record, Stats & Next Fight

UFC fight history

Res	Opponent	Outcome	Finish	Rd	Time	Event	Date
L	Tecia Pennington Women's Strawweight	Decision	Unanimous	R3	5:00	UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr.	Oct 5, 2024
L	#2Zhang WeiliTitle Women's Strawweight	Submission	Rear Naked Choke From back crucifix	R2	1:05	UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira	Nov 12, 2022
W	CRose NamajunasTitle Women's Strawweight	Decision	Split	R5	5:00	UFC 274: Oliveira vs. Gaethje	May 7, 2022
W	#3Yan Xiaonan Women's Strawweight	KO/TKO	Punches to Head From Crucifix	R2	2:58	UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt	May 22, 2021
W	#9Marina Rodriguez Women's Strawweight	Decision	Split	R3	5:00	UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till	Jul 25, 2020
W	Michelle Waterson-Gomez Women's Strawweight	Decision	Split	R3	5:00	UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje	May 9, 2020
W	#9Alexa Grasso Women's Strawweight	Decision	Majority	R3	5:00	UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs. Stephens	Sep 21, 2019
W	Virna Jandiroba Women's Strawweight	Decision	Unanimous	R3	5:00	UFC Fight Night: Jacare vs. Hermansson	Apr 27, 2019
L	#9Tatiana Suarez Women's Strawweight	KO/TKO	Punches to Head From Guard	R3	4:33	UFC 228: Woodley vs. Till	Sep 8, 2018
L	#3Claudia Gadelha Women's Strawweight	Decision	Split	R3	5:00	UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2	Jun 9, 2018
W	#6Cynthia Calvillo Women's Strawweight	Decision	Unanimous	R3	5:00	UFC 219: Cyborg vs. Holm	Dec 30, 2017
W	#10Maryna Moroz Women's Strawweight	Decision	Unanimous	R3	5:00	UFC Fight Night: Chiesa vs. Lee	Jun 25, 2017
L	#13Randa Markos Women's Strawweight	Decision	Split	R3	5:00	UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Browne	Feb 19, 2017
W	#14Juliana Lima Women's Strawweight	Decision	Unanimous	R3	5:00	UFC 197: Jones vs. Saint Preux	Apr 23, 2016
L	#1Joanna JedrzejczykTitle Women's Strawweight	KO/TKO	Punches to Head In Clinch	R2	4:17	UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos	Mar 14, 2015
W	Rose NamajunasTitle Women's Strawweight	Submission	Rear Naked Choke	R3	1:26	The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned Finale	Dec 12, 2014

Outside the UFC

9-2across 11 bouts · 8 promotions · wins by 3 KO · 3 sub · 3 decInvicta · BFC · XFC 15 · ECSC · Crowbar MMA +3

Res	Opponent	Outcome	Finish	Rd	Time	Promotion	Date
W	Bec Rawlings8-9	Decision	Unanimous	R5	5:00	Invicta	Jan 5, 2013
W	Lynn Alvarez6-5	KO/TKO	Punches	R1	2:53	Invicta	Oct 6, 2012
W	Sarah Schneider7-6	KO/TKO	Punches	R2	4:28	Invicta	Jul 28, 2012
W	Felice Herrig14-10	Decision	Unanimous	R3	5:00	XFC 15	Dec 2, 2011
L	Jessica Aguilar20-10	Decision	Split	R3	5:00	BFC	Jun 25, 2011
W	Yadira Anzaldua2-4	Submission	Rear-Naked Choke	R1	0:53	ECSC	Apr 15, 2011
W	Nina Nunes11-7	Decision	Split	R3	5:00	Crowbar MMA	Dec 10, 2010
L	Megumi Fujii26-3	Submission	Armbar	R2	0:57	BFC	Aug 12, 2010
W	Lacey Sears12-10	Submission	Rear-Naked Choke	R2	2:37	NMEF / RMBB	Jul 16, 2010
W	Karina Hallinan3-5	Submission	Rear-Naked Choke	R2	2:16	LBFN 8	Apr 18, 2010
W	Cassie Trost0-2	KO/TKO	Punches	R1	0:48	RITC 3	Feb 19, 2010

Non-UFC bouts (regional/other promotions) and Dana White’s Contender Series — shown for context only, excluded from Schedule Score, striking/grappling rates, and every UFC-scoped metric.

Method of victory & defeat

KO / TKO

4 wins, 2 losses

W4

L2

Submission

4 wins, 2 losses

W4

L2

Decision

11 wins, 4 losses

W11

L4

Finishes

UFC KOs

1

Above avg · 6%Strawweight

Knockdowns / fight

0.00

UFC submissions

1

Below avg · 8%Strawweight

Submission attempts / fight

0.25

KO history

Knockout power and chin durability (UFC; clean KOs only).

Carla Esparza

PowerChin

Knockout rate

6%

1 KO/TKO wins

Knockdowns dealt

0

0.00 per 100 head

Clean KO losses

2

cuts / injury TKOs excluded

Knockdowns absorbed

0

0.00 per 100 head

Chin gauges use a league scale: green = clean record, red = bottom ~10% of UFC fighters (4+ KO losses · 6+ knockdowns absorbed).

Decision behavior

Judging

9 scorecards on file

Carla Esparza

Scorecard luck

Cards have leaned their way

Won 4 of 4 coin-flip decisions — the kind of close calls that have tended to fall their way. Judges have given them 4 of 11 rounds they disagreed on (36%).

Coin-flip decisions

Split + majority

4–0

Won – Lost

Swing rounds

Judges disagreed

4–7

Won – Lost

36% went their way

Unanimous5 decisions · 56%

4W1L

Split3 decisions · 33%

3W

Majority1 decision · 11%

1W

10-8 rounds

1 round total

0

Won

1

Lost

Most frequent judges

All judges →

Scorecard data ingested from MMA Decisions

Career striking

OverallD31st

39%492 / 1,247

Striking accuracy

54%

Striking defense

Sig. strikes / min-0.68 differential

Landed2.19

Absorbed2.87

51%str + td

Defensive rating

Striking edge

-7%accuracy vs opp. landing

worseevenbetter

Strike maps

Sig. strikes by target

Head74%—363
Body14%—71
Leg12%—58

Color = division rank · green elite → red low · % = share of strikes

Sig. strikes by position

57%Standing

Standing57%280
Clinch13%63
Ground30%149

Striking zones

Per-15-minute breakdown — where this fighter lands, and where they get hit.

UFC only

Carla Esparza

Landed per 15

Head

24.3

Body

4.7

Leg

3.9

Ranks are division percentiles — e.g. 90th = top 10% of the weight class. Higher is always better: on “absorbed” rows the rank is inverted, so a high rank means they get hit less.

Absorbed per 15

Head

31.6

Body

6.0

Leg

5.4

Ranks are division percentiles — e.g. 90th = top 10% of the weight class. Higher is always better: on “absorbed” rows the rank is inverted, so a high rank means they get hit less.

Career totals — landed / attempted

Landed (career total)

Zone	Per 15	Landed	Attempted	Accuracy
Head	24.3	363	1,072	34%
Body	4.7	71	101	70%
Leg	3.9	58	74	78%

Absorbed (career total)

Zone	Per 15	Landed	Attempted	Accuracy
Head	31.6	473	1,195	40%
Body	6.0	90	119	76%
Leg	5.4	81	98	83%

UFCStats career rates, per 15 minutes. Percentiles vs the division; absorbed is inverted so higher is better.

Grappling

Per-15-minute breakdown of takedowns, submissions, and ground control.

UFC only

Carla Esparza

36%

Takedown accuracy

47%

Takedown defense

Control / 15 min+2.1 min net

On top4.2

On bottom2.2

Offense

Takedowns

3.3

TD accuracy

36%

Sub attempts

0.3

Control

4.2 min

Defense

TD defense

47%

Controlled

2.2 min

Career totals — landed / attempted, control time

Offense

Takedowns	49 / 135
Submission attempts	4
Control time	63:28

Defense

TDs defended	17 / 36
Control absorbed	32:35

Rates above are per 15 minutes of UFC fight time (224min total). Value colors reflect the per-15 rate’s percentile against the current weight class baseline; raw totals without a division reference stay neutral.

Pace & fade

Round-by-round work rate, and whether they fade.

UFC only

Carla Esparza

16 UFC bouts (per‑round) · 224 min

150%

R3 pace · 13 bouts

Esparza builds (+16% per round through round 3). Within fights that reached round 3, Esparza lifts to 150% of round-1 output by round 3 (13 bouts).

Esparza ▲ BUILDSOutput / min

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

What drives the pace · per round

The composite output line above blends these three inputs — splitting them out shows whether the work rate is built on striking volume, takedown pressure, or top control, and which input fades.

Sig. strikes landed

Esparzalanded / min

Takedown attempts

Esparzaattempts / min

Control time

Esparza% of round

Round	Output / min	Sig landed / min	Sig absorbed / min	TD att / min	Control	Bouts
R1	4.4	1.7	3.0	0.46	33%	16
R2	5.3	2.3	2.7	0.63	28%	16
R3	6.1	2.8	3.0	0.74	26%	13
R4	4.9	1.6	1.2	1.00	7%	1
R5	2.2	1.0	2.6	0.40	0%	1

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.

Schedule Score

Opponent quality, ranked across the UFC. Recent fights weighted heavier.

UFC only

Carla Esparza

16 resolved UFC bouts · 12 ranked at the time

Schedule Score

78/ 100

0255075100

Schedule strength

A+

97th

78%

97th

Win quality

A+

90th

58%

90th

Opponent quality distribution

Every UFC bout, grouped by who the opponent was at the time.

4

5

7

ChampionHeld the title in this weight class at the time
Top-5Ranked #1–#5 at the time
Top-15Ranked #6–#15 at the time

Tier	Bouts	Record	Win rate
Champion	4	2-2	50%
Top-5	5	3-2	60%
Top-15	7	5-2	71%

Highest-quality opponents

Toughest opponents on the scheduleScore, scored at the time of the fight.

All bouts — opponent quality bout-by-bout

Res	Opponent	Tier	Score	Date
L	Tecia Pennington	Top-15	57	Oct 5, 2024
L	Zhang Weili#2	Champion	97	Nov 12, 2022
W	Rose NamajunasCHAMP	Champion	100	May 7, 2022
W	Yan Xiaonan#3	Top-5	91	May 22, 2021
W	Marina Rodriguez#9	Top-5	82	Jul 25, 2020
W	Michelle Waterson-Gomez	Top-15	55	May 9, 2020
W	Alexa Grasso#9	Top-15	75	Sep 21, 2019
W	Virna Jandiroba	Top-5	65	Apr 27, 2019
L	Tatiana Suarez#9	Top-5	86	Sep 8, 2018
L	Claudia Gadelha#3	Top-5	88	Jun 9, 2018
W	Cynthia Calvillo#6	Top-15	78	Dec 30, 2017
W	Maryna Moroz#10	Top-15	72	Jun 25, 2017
L	Randa Markos#13	Top-15	71	Feb 19, 2017
W	Juliana Lima#14	Top-15	65	Apr 23, 2016
L	Joanna Jedrzejczyk#1	Champion	97	Mar 14, 2015
W	Rose Namajunas	Champion	83	Dec 12, 2014

Per-bout quality scoring: champion = 100; same-division ranks 1–5 = 90 → 78 linear; ranks 6–15 = 75 → 60 linear; cross-division champion = 78; cross-division ranked = 45; title-fight challenger (no rank signal) = 50, bumped to 65 when opp had an elite career UFC record at the time. Unranked opponents are scored on UFC record-at-time (long-tenured vet 60, contender-level 45, established 30, building 18, unproven 8). P4P top-10 at time adds +5; top-3 adds +8 (capped at 100). The Schedule Score combines schedule strength (65%) and quality wins (35%), then is held toward a rookie baseline for fighters with limited UFC experience so a thin résumé reads honestly low.

Career cohorts

16 resolved UFC bouts

Performance broken down by situation — camp length, response to the previous result, title-fight presence, and rematches. Computed across every completed UFC bout.

Camp length

Days between fights

Short turnaround

< 100 days

1-2

3 bouts

Typical camp

100–180 days

2-1

3 bouts

Long layoff

> 180 days

6-3

9 bouts

UFC debut

first UFC bout

1-0

1 bout

Post-result bounce

Performance based on the previous UFC result

After a loss

next bout after a defeat

3-2

5 bouts

After a win

next bout after a win

6-4

10 bouts

First UFC bout

no precedent

1-0

1 bout

Title fights

Performance with a belt on the line

All title fights

as challenger or champion

2-2

4 bouts

As champion

defending the belt

0-2

2 bouts

As challenger

fighting for the belt

2-0

2 bouts

Rematches

Performance when meeting an opponent again

All rematches

any second meeting

1-0

1 bout

Revenge bouts

lost the first meeting

—

Encore bouts

won the first meeting

1-0

1 bout

Activity & layoff

Last fight, activity, and divisional context.

Time since last UFC bout

1y 9mo

Active

0–6 mo

Normal

6–12 mo

Layoff

12–18 mo

Extended

18+ mo

Carla Esparza

Extended layoff

1y 9mosince last bout

vs Tecia Pennington · Oct 5, 2024

DraftKings fantasy scoring

DFSAs favorite 4-2As underdog 6-4

70.0

DK avg

67.7

Median

107.9

Ceiling

16.7

Floor

44%

Boom

19%

Bust

Pro

See Carla Esparza's DK score in every fight

The full fantasy-points log with closing lines — sortable, filterable, with a live summary — for all 16 UFC bouts.

Unlock with Pro →