Former champion Carla Esparza is retiring from MMA after a loss at UFC 307

The first UFC women's strawweight champion ends her career.

After a unanimous decision loss to Tecia Pennington at UFC 307 on Saturday, Carla Esparza retired from mixed martial arts, saying she wanted to focus on her family.

It was a close fight with a bittersweet ending that, according to many fans at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, should have favored Esparza. However, Pennington's standup success, led by a leg kick attack, earned her scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.

“You can’t leave it to the judges,” Esparza said after the loss. “I thought I won, but I’m honored to fight a veteran.”

A video package about Esparza's career was shown in the arena as she held her son in the Octagon.

“It’s been an amazing journey these last 15 years,” a tearful Esparza said. “I fought the best of the best. It's not always easy. There are ups and downs in this sport, but I wouldn't have done it any other way. This is the greatest sport in the world.”

The retirement wasn't a shock – Esparza (19-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) announced on Instagram in August that her MMA career would end with the fight against Pennington.

“As time went on, if she had reconsidered, I actually felt better and better about my decision,” Esparza told ESPN earlier this week.

“Being a mother and struggling is definitely possible, but I feel like I'm able to start this next chapter and put all that passion and focus into being a mother.”

The 36-year-old Esparza, nicknamed “Cookie Monster,” is retiring as a two-time UFC women's strawweight champion, former Invicta FC strawweight champion and winner of Season 20 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Known for her exceptional wrestling skills, Esparza holds the record for the most takedowns in strawweight history with 44.

Before transitioning to an MMA career, Esparza was a 2008 and 2009 NAIA All-American in women's wrestling at Menlo College. In 2010, Esparza made her professional MMA debut and went 3-0 before receiving a call to face legendary mixed martial artist Megumi Fujii in Bellator, where she suffered her first career loss. She made her Invicta FC debut in 2012 and won the title as the first Invicta FC strawweight champion a year later. She vacated the title to compete on The Ultimate Fighter, where the winner would be crowned the first UFC women's strawweight champion.

After defeating Angela Hill, Tecia Pennington (then Torres) and Jessica Penne, Esparza dominated and submitted Rose Namajunas in December 2014 to make history as the first women's champion at 115 pounds. However, her reign as champion was short-lived as she relinquished the title to Joanna Jedrzejczyk three months later.

After the loss, Esparza went 9-3 over the next seven before being awarded the chance to regain the title against then-champion Namajunas. Despite being a betting underdog, Esparza regained the title with a split decision victory on May 7, 2022, setting the record for longest stretch between title reigns in UFC history at 2,612 days.

Six months later, Esparza relinquished the title to Zhang Weili.

After losing the title, Esparza took a break from the sport to raise a family. In September 2023, Esparza and her husband gave birth to a baby boy. With almost 15 years as a professional, the former champion decided to have one last fight before retiring from the sport.

“It felt like it came full circle,” Esparza said of finishing her career against someone she spent time with on “The Ultimate Fighter.” “We are both mothers now and that shows how far women have come in MMA. Being a mother is slowly becoming an everyday thing in MMA. You don't have to stop fighting when you become a mother, but it was up to me.” Women can do anything to retire.

Esparza leaves the sport as one of the pioneers of women's MMA and will likely be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

“The fight made all my dreams come true,” she said. “It has brought me into my life and given me a lifestyle that I never thought possible. I could literally do what I love every day and make a living at it. “I couldn’t be more grateful for what this sport has to offer.” It was my everything.