The new Ultimate Fighting Championship mom will have her final dance in October.
According to MMA Junkie on Thursday, Carla Esparza (19-7) and Tecia Pennington (13-7) have agreed to face off on Oct. 5 at UFC 307. The strawweights have not signed a contract to fight, but a matchup is expected to be finalized in the coming days. This will not be the first time the two have faced off, as they previously met in 2014 on season 20 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” with Esparza dominating in a two-round exhibition bout. Esparza confirmed the bout on Instagram on Friday, explaining that it will be her retirement bout.
Esparza, a former two-time strawweight queen, is looking to finish 2022 with a win after suffering a suffocating second-round submission loss to Weili Zhang. That loss cost her the title she won via a tepid split decision over Rose Namajunas earlier that year. “Cookie Monster” reeled off a five-fight win streak, including two split decisions and a majority decision, to earn herself another shot at the title, but capped off that streak with a win against Xiaonan Yan in May 2021. Since then, Esparza has become a mother, giving birth to a son, Donovan, with husband Matthew Lomeli.
Pennington also celebrated the birth of her first child, daughter Alayah, with UFC champion Raquel Pennington in 2023. Pennington has competed once since becoming a mother, losing a split decision to Tabatha Rich in May. It was the second straight loss for “Tiny Tornado,” who had a three-fight winning streak halted by a loss to Mackenzie Dern in 2022. Prior to that loss, Pennington had beaten Brianna Fortino, Sam Hughes and Angela Hill to remain a contender at 115 pounds.
UFC 307 will take place at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on October 5, but no main event has yet been scheduled. The rumored opponent for that night is Pennington’s wife Raquel defending her bantamweight belt against Julianna Peña, but that bout has yet to be confirmed. At featherweight, Movsar Evloev will face Aljamain Sterling, at 135 pounds, Kayla Harrison will face Ketlen Vieira, and at bantamweight, Jose Aldo will face Mario Bautista.
