Carla Esparza announces her retirement fight will take place at UFC 307: “I feel it’s time”

By Susan Cox - August 2, 2024

Carla Esparza has announced that her retirement fight will take place at UFC 307.

Carla Esparza

UFC 307 will take place on Saturday, October 5th at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The former two-time UFC strawweight champion, at 36, is making it known that it’s time for her to hang up her gloves.

With just 1 more fight to go Carla Esparza AKA ‘Cookie Monster’ will get in the cage with Tecia Pennington (13-7 MMA) in a strawweight battle at UFC 307.

Carla Esparza has not fought since losing her title in November of 2022 when she was defeated by Weili Zhang (25-3 MMA) at UFC 281. Prior to that loss, Esparza had 6 consecutive wins in the cage.

‘The Tiny Tornado’ has lost two in a row coming into her fight with Esparza. Pennington lost to Mackenzie Dern (13-5 MMA) in April of 2022 and Tabatha Ricci (10-2 MMA) this past May.

Carla Esparza took to ‘Instagram‘ with the retirement fight announcement:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Carla (@carlaesparza1)

“*RETIREMENT FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT*I will be stepping into The UFC Octagon on Saturday, October 5th for the final time. After almost 15 years as a professional, fighting the best of the best, I feel it’s time to hang up my gloves. This choice is made for my body and my family; 20+ years doing combat sports takes its toll.”

“I wanted to give my ‘Cookie Monster’ fans, who have never been there to watch me live, one final opportunity. It feels bittersweet to leave this sport that I love so much, but I’m happy to be doing it on my own terms.”
#UFC 307

So, there you have it, Carla Esparza will let her fans see her in one last fight before retiring from MMA.

Will you be watching? Would you like to see ‘Cookie Monster’ end her fighting career with a victory?

Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!