The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale took place on Friday night at The Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas and the event was headlined by Carla Esparza becoming the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight champion with a submission victory against Rose Namajunas.
Esparza was able to use her wrestling to take an early lead in the fight and ended up locking in a rear-naked choke in the third round to get the victory.
Check out how members of the MMA media reacted to Esparza winning the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight title.
First-ever UFC strawweight title fight coming up. Namajunas x Esparza. Here’s hoping we get a dedicated camera on Barry in Namajunas’ corner
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 13, 2014
Carla Esparza wins the walkout song of the night with ‘Harvester of Sorrow” by Metallica. Eff yeah @CarlaEsparza1 #TUFFinale
— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) December 13, 2014
Please don’t go to the judges. Ooof.
— Greg Savage (@TheSavageTruth) December 13, 2014
Guys, this is a scrap.
— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) December 13, 2014
Namajunas mixing up her strikes nicely, Esparza with a takedown, back to the feet Rose landing those kicks. Esparza with another takedown.
— Heidi Fang (@HeidiFang) December 13, 2014
20-18 Esparza after two. Difference in experience levels really showing on the ground.
— Dave Doyle (@davedoylemma) December 13, 2014
Massive round for Esparza. Namajunas has never fought anyone nearly as good as her and it’s showing.
— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) December 13, 2014
Carla Esparza wins the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight title with a rear-naked choke submission in the 3rd round
— Jason Floyd (@Jason_Floyd) December 13, 2014
That was a surprisingly one-sided fight.
— Greg Savage (@TheSavageTruth) December 13, 2014
Wow. Incredibly impressive. Namajunas is 22 years old and crazy talented. But Esparza is just better right now. By a significant amount.
— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) December 13, 2014
TUF 20 Finale Result: Carla Esparza def. Rose Namajunas via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 1:26 http://t.co/0UQFL33JHT
— The MMA Report (@TheMMAReport) December 13, 2014