Rose Namajunas To Meet Carla Esparza Again At UFC 274 Co-Main Event

Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza are going another round.

Esparza will get a shot at the strawweight title and a rematch with Namajunas in the co-main event of UFC 274 on May 7, MMA Fighting confirmed after an initial report by Sports Illustrated.

The two first met in the octagon in the Season 20 finale of “The Ultimate Fighter” in December 2014. There, Esparza claimed the promotion’s inaugural 115-pound belt with a third-round submission victory.

Namajunas, however, bounced back from the loss and went on to win nine of her next 11 fights.

Meanwhile, Esparza, lost the title in her very next fight against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in 2015. Two years later, Namajunas grabbed the opportunity at the title shot, knocking out Jedrzejczyk in the first round. They fought again in 2018 and Namajunas successfully defended the belt.

Namajunas would later lose the title to Jessica Andrade, but she reclaimed the throne in a two-fight victory against Zhang Weili, who won the belt off of Andrade.

Now Namajunas is the woman on the top of the division and Esparza get another chance to reclaim the title she had first.

A lightweight title fight between champion Charles Oliveira and top contender Justin Gaethje will headline UFC 274 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.