Carla Esparza, a former two-time UFC women’s strawweight champion, has announced that she is pregnant in an Instagram post. The post shows Carla and her husband Matthew Lomeli holding a blue baby onesie to reveal the news. She also shared her delivery date and when she may return to UFC.
UFC Champ Carla Esparza Expecting, Reveals Return Timeline
“So we’ve been keeping a little secret for the last 14 weeks… we’re expecting! Baby Cookie Monster. Grand Entrance September 2023. Excited for this next chapter… and hoping to make my return early to mid-2024.”
After her victorious title fight against Rose Namajunas, Esparza and Lomeli got married in May 2022. She made headlines for sporting her championship belt while walking down the aisle on her wedding day.
Esparza, who hails from California, is one of the most successful female fighters in the UFC. During The Ultimate Fighter season 20 finale, she defeated Namajunas in the third round via submission, earning the distinction of becoming the UFC’s inaugural strawweight champion.
Esparza has amassed a collection of victories over numerous high-profile opponents, including the reigning flyweight queen Alexa Grasso, former Invicta FC atomweight champion Michelle Waterson, Xiaonan Yan, and Marina Rodriguez, among other notable names.
Esparza impressively won six consecutive fights between 2019 and 2022 before unfortunately losing her championship title to Zhang Weili during UFC 281. Presently, she is ranked as the top contender in the 115 lbs division.
