Carla Esparza’s 2014 may have felt long, but it also has to feel good.
The former Invicta strawweight championship not only matriculated to the UFC by being the top-seeded cast member on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 20, she won the show and in the process, became the first-ever UFC women’s strawweight champion when she defeated Rose Namajunas at the TUF 20 Finale.
Read more from original source
BARUERI, Brazil — Dominick Cruz talks to reporters before UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Dollaway weigh-ins about his pending UFC bantamweight title fight with T.J. Dillashaw, what changed while he was out for nearly three years with injuries and his opinion on the UFC’s controversial signing of former WWE star CM Punk.
Read more from original source
On a media blitz in New York City Thursday, professional wrestling’s CM Punk began opening up a bit more on the early conversations held with UFC president Dana White prior to his joining the promotion earlier in December.
The WWE star has taken a mountain of flak for his choice to cannonball into MMA’s grandest stage at 36 with no resume to speak of, but Punk says he was willing to endure the entry level tournament that is ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’
Read more from original source
“It’s cool. He’s gonna come in, get his ass whooped and be gone.”
Go ahead and add UFC welterweight Matt Brown to the glass half empty crowd on the promotion signing professional wrestler CM Punk.
Read more from original source
Carla Esparza talks about becoming the first UFC strawweight champion and what’s next for her.
Read more from original source
No surprise here, but if you’re fighting on The Ultimate Fighter, it’s better on your wallet to make the finals. UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza handily out-earned the rest of her fellow TUF 20 castmates at Friday’s The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale, pocketing $50,000 for her main event win according to figures released to MMAFighting.com by the Nevada Athletic Commission.
Despite being the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed and reigning Invicta FC champion, Esparza entered her finals bout against 22-year-old Rose Namajunas as a betting underdog. It didn’t matter though, as Esparza dominated Namajunas with her wrestling before securing a third-round submission finish to be crowned the UFC’s inaugural 115-pound champion.
Read more from original source
UFC featherweight contender Conor McGregor seems a bit torn over the promotion’s decision to allow a retired professional wrestler with no competitive experience whatsoever to compete alongside him in the sport’s premier organization.
McGregor understands the appeal of wrangling the elusive and dreaded ‘casual fan,’ but would have preferred for 36-year-old CM Punk to first prove himself elsewhere.
Read more from original source
PHOENIX — Joanna Jedrzejczyk talks about her close fight against Claudia Gadelha at UFC on FOX 13, punches that landed after the bell, beating the #1 strawweight, rounding out her grappling game, her love of sneakers, and more.
Read more from original source
PHOENIX, Ariz. — Claudia Gadelha and Joanna Jedrzejczyk shared more than a few harsh words throughout UFC on FOX 13’s fight week, and those feelings didn’t stop once the fight ended.
In a scene reminiscent of Paul Daley’s infamous sucker punch of Josh Koscheck, Gadelha whacked Jedrzejczyk with a right hook several seconds after the horn signaled the end of Saturday’s strawweight contender fight.
Read more from original source
PHOENIX, Ariz. — If Friday saw the crowning of the UFC’s first female strawweight champion, Saturday may have seen the crowning of the division’s first title contender.
Polish striker Joanna Jedrzejczyk showcased exceptional takedown defense and aggression to capture a split decision over heavy favorite and presumed number-one contender Claudia Gadelha on the preliminary card at UFC on FOX 13. Afterward, at UFC on FOX 13’s post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White alluded to Jedrzejczyk being the first test for 115-pound champion Carla Esparza.
Read more from original source
A new UFC welterweight champion was crowned last weekend. The very first UFC strawweight champion was crowned Friday night. A murderer’s row of heavyweights is lined up for UFC on FOX 13 Saturday night.
And still I got more questions on CM Punk than other things. So let us jump right into things.
Read more from original source
LAS VEGAS — It is potential Rose Namajunas got a little bit ahead of herself leading into her historical fight with Carla Esparza on Friday night.
Namajunas fell to Esparza by third-round entry (rear-naked choke) in the UFC’s initiative women’s strawweight title fight in The greatest Combatant 20 Ending here in the Pearl in the Palms. Namajunas was the smart pick to win the fight and end up being the surface of the recent section.
Read more from original source
History was produced in Las Vegas Friday night as the UFC crowned its first strawweight winner. Following the remaining TUF 20 cast fought each other in the undercard, the show’s finalists tangled for the crown. Former Invicta FC strawweight winner Carla Esparza survived a scrappy opening round from Rose Namajunas, but would use her wrestling to fix a third-round rear-naked choke to become UFC champ.
See in what way the experts responded to every one of the night’s activity.
Read more from original source
The UFC will crown their first-ever strawweight winner on Friday night as the end of the twentieth season of The Ultimate Fighter happens. Division powerhouse Carla Esparza takes on soaring competition Rose Namajunas for the strap while the remaining card features lighter weight fights along with bouts among combatants in the show.
What: The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale
Read more from original source
MMA Fighting gets the TUF 20 Finale results for the Esparza vs. Namajunas fight card Dec. 12 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nev.In the main event, Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas will compete for the first UFC girls’s strawweight title. Take a look at the TUF 20 Finale results underneath. Chief card (FOX Sports 1 at 9 p.m. ET)Carla Esparza vs. Rose NamajunasJeremy Stephens vs. Charles OliveiraK.J. Noons vs. Daron CruickshankJoe Proctor vs. Yancy MedeirosJessica Penne vs. Randa MarkosUndercard (FOX Sports 1 at 7 p.m. ET)Felice Herrig vs. Lisa EllisBec Rawlings vs. Heather ClarkJoanne Calderwood vs. Seo Hee HamTecia Torres vs. Angela MaganaUndercard (UFC Fight Pass at 6 p.m. ET)Aisling Daly vs. Alex ChambersEmily Kagan vs. Angela Hill
Read more from original source
The Ultimate Fighter 20 Ending weigh in pictures are for the UFC occasion this coming Friday night in the Pearl in the Palms in vegas, Nevada. In the key occasion, TUF 20 finalists Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza face off to claim the first ever women’s UFC strawweight title.
Read more from original source
in the TUF 20 Ending weigh-ins, all 22 fighters taking part in Friday night’s TUF 20 Finale fights will step to the scale Thursday day, and we’ll possess the live video here at MMAFighting.com. In the primary occasion, Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas must create the strawweight limitation of 115 pounds. The TUF 20 Ending weigh-in takes place at 7 p.m. ET at the Pearl in the Palms, and the video is above. The TUF 20 Ending weigh in results are below.
Chief card (FOX Sports 1 at 9 p.m. ET)Carla Esparza vs. Rose NamajunasJeremy Stephens vs. Charles OliveiraK.J. Noons vs. Daron CruickshankJoe Proctor vs. Yancy MedeirosJessica Penne vs. Randa MarkosUndercard (FOX Sports 1 at 7 p.m. ET)Felice Herrig vs. Lisa EllisBec Rawlings vs. Heather Jo ClarkJoanne Calderwood vs. Seo Hee HamTecia Torres vs. Angela MaganaUndercard (UFC Fight Pass at 6 p.m. ET)Aisling Daly vs. Alex ChambersEmily Kagan vs. Angela Hill
Read more from original source
The UFC’s first women’s strawweight title fight is placed.
Rose Namajunas will meet Carla Esparza in the key occurrence of The Ultimate Fighter 20 Ending on Friday in Las Vegas with the 115-pound belt in the line. Namajunas defeat Randa Markos by first-round entry and Esparza knocked off Jessica Penne via unanimous decision in the semifinals on Wednesday night’s final episode of The greatest Fighter 20.
Read more from original source
We do not understand why, when, what weight or against who, but CM Punk certainly will fight in the UFC.
The why (cash), when (mid 2015), weight (185 pounds), where (Chicago, Illinois) can all sort of be deduced, but who the former WWE star will face in the Octagon is an infinitely more interesting question.
Read more from original source
The UFC will crown its first strawweight winner on Dec. 12 at TUF 20 Ending in Las Vegas, and the first title challenger will appear 24 hours afterwards in Phoenix.
Claudia Gadelha, who meets fellow undefeated possibility Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC on FOX 13 on Dec. 13, told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour that the UFC ensured that the victor of this bout will fight for the title next.
Read more from original source
