Namajunas vs Esparza

Who won Namajunas vs Esparza?

Carla Esparza beat Rose Namajunas by split decision in their 5 round contest during the co-main event of UFC 274, on Saturday 7th May 2022 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

The scorecards were announced as 49-46, 48-47, 48-47 in favor of the winner Carla Esparza.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Women’s Strawweight division, which meant the weight limit was 115 pounds (8.2 stone or 52.2 KG).

This contest was for the UFC Women’s Strawweight championship.

Namajunas vs Esparza stats

Rose Namajunas stepped into the octagon with a record of 11 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 2 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 5 by submission.

Carla Esparza made her way to the cage with a record of 17 wins, 6 losses and 0 draws, 3 of those wins coming by knock out and 4 by submission.

This was Rose Namajunas' 18th fight in the UFC, having made her debut for the promotion in 2014. Carla Esparza marked her 16th fight for them, having made her own debut for the promotion in 2014.

Rose Namajunas' UFC record stood at 12-6-0, while Carla Esparza's came in at 10-6-0.

The stats suggested that Namajunas and Esparza have similar power, both with a 18% knock out percentage.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Namajunas had a large advantage over Esparza, boasting a 45% submission rate over Esparza's 24%.

Rose Namajunas was the younger woman by 5 years, at 32 years old.

Namajunas had a height advantage of 4 inches over Esparza. That also extended to a 2-inch reach advantage.

Namajunas was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 8 fewer fights, and made her debut in 2013, 2 years and 10 months later than Esparza, whose first professional fight was in 2010. She had fought 5 less professional rounds, 67 to Esparza's 72.

Namajunas vs Esparza form

Namajunas had beaten 4 of her last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going to the judges twice.

In her last fight before this contest, she had won against Weili Zhang at UFC 261 on 24th April 2021 by knockout in the 1st round in their UFC Women’s Strawweight championship fight at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, United States.

Previous to that, she had beaten Jessica Andrade at UFC 251 on 11th July 2020 by split decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Going into that contest, she had lost to Jessica Andrade at UFC 237 on 11th May 2019 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Women’s Strawweight championship fight at Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Before that, she had defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 223 on 7th April 2018 by unanimous decision in their UFC Women’s Strawweight championship fight at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, United States.

She was victorious against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217 on 4th November 2017 by knockout in the 1st round in their UFC Women’s Strawweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Esparza had beaten 3 of her last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance twice.

In her last fight leading up to this contest, she had been beaten by Tecia Pennington at UFC 307 on 5th October 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, United States.

Previous to that, she had been defeated by Weili Zhang at UFC 281 on 12th November 2022 by submission in the 2nd round in their UFC Women’s Strawweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Going into that contest, she had won against Rose Namajunas at UFC 274 on 7th May 2022 by split decision in their UFC Women’s Strawweight championship fight at Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Before that, she had beaten Yan Xiaonan at UFC Vegas 27 on 22nd May 2021 by knockout in the 2nd round in the United States.

She had defeated Marina Rodriguez at UFC Fight Island 3 on 25th July 2020 by split decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Carla Esparza had been fighting more than Rose Namajunas.

Going to this contest, Rose Namajunas had last fought 4 years, 1 month and 26 days ago, while Carla Esparza's last outing had been 8 months and 14 days ago.

Namajunas' last 5 fights had come over a period of 7 years, 7 months and 15 days, meaning she had been fighting on average every 1 year, 6 months and 10 days. In those fights, she fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

Esparza's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 10 months and 25 days, meaning she had been fighting on average every 11 months and 24 days. In those fights, she fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Namajunas vs Esparza?

Sorry, we couldn’t find any historical odds for Namajunas vs Esparza.