Carla Esparza has something to prove in retirement fight – Orange County Register

It stands out among a collection of dull warehouses in Irvine, a bright blue building that has housed half of a martial arts studio since 2006. Amid the spacious mats, several heavy bags fall victim to the impact of fists and feet on padded leather, seen above by the grunts of a dozen fighters.

Colin Oyama, the man behind Team Oyama Training Center, studies and patrols, provides guidance and encouragement. When Oyama speaks, every fighter stops and listens.

Standing at a bag is the smallest fighter in the gym, crouching and feinting and expelling air from her mouth as if to silence the bag as she breaks it open.

Carla Esparza, 5 feet 7 inches tall, delivers punches with punishing intent, her feet red from the steady stream of kicks. When the session is over, everyone gets an antibacterial wipe and wipes down their target, even the first strawweight champion in UFC history.

A fighter with nothing to prove, Esparza has one final goal.

Facing Father Time, the undefeated, faceless opponent known for exposing the deficiencies of aging athletes, Esparza, just days shy of her 37th birthday, has decided to fight Tecia Pennington for the final time on Saturday at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City to fight.

And after that, Esparza is ready to fully enjoy motherhood. She and her husband, Matthew Lomeli, knew this day was coming after their son, Donovan, was born just over a year ago. Most importantly, it was on her terms.

“I knew I wanted a family and I knew I didn’t know how the pregnancy and comeback would go. I knew I wanted to take at least one more just to prove to myself that I could do it,” the Tustin resident said.

Do you think it's difficult to be a first-time mother? Also try to be a fighter. Combat camps couldn't be more strenuous. You're training for the final walk into the octagon while every other waking moment – physical, mental and emotional – is spent being the best mother you can be.

Added to this is the challenge of simultaneously losing and reducing weight while breastfeeding.

“That’s a lot of commitment and time investment on their part. She had to be extra careful,” said Lomeli, a family doctor in Anaheim. “I know she has been making additional visits with lactation consultants to help her through this process as she loses her weight and prepares for the upcoming weight reductions and possible loss of breast milk. And that was definitely something big and new.”

Esparza has been working as a professional MMA fighter for almost 15 years. Despite many ups and some downs, Esparza persevered.

It was also the most selfish thing she had ever done, she says. And the past year has provided a life-changing reality check.

“You have to be selfish to be successful. And I would say being a mother is the most selfless thing you can ever do. And I feel like to be the kind of mother I want to be, I have to work very selflessly,” she said.

Tough camps are the order of the day: battling injuries, preparing for five-round fights, juggling media demands and all the pressure and scrutiny.

But now Esparza had to get creative, from stretching and foam rolling while spending “tummy time” with Donovan to receiving treatments on her. This camp was a new beast.

“I would say just the scheduling, you know, like lack of sleep, just all the things that come with parenthood, especially motherhood,” she said. “The baby is a little more dependent on you, just physiologically. In many ways, this was the toughest camp of my career.”

THE LEGACY

It's impossible to tell the story of women's MMA without Carla Esparza, whether you like it or not.

Some fans bristle at Esparza's grappling style, which is shaped by her days competing with and against boys at Redondo Union High and becoming a two-time NAIA Women's Wrestling All-American at Menlo College.

Undisputed are two of Esparza's proudest achievements: never turning down an opponent and never losing weight.

Esparza (19-7) won MMA gold for the first time when she won Invicta FC's inaugural strawweight belt at age 25. A year later, she competed in a 16-woman tournament when the UFC introduced “The Ultimate Fighter,” the first installment of its women's reality show. Esparza was crowned queen of her new 115-pound division after striking out and ultimately submitting to Rose Namajunas in the finals on December 12, 2014.

Oyama, whom Esparza considers a “second father,” has been by her side and in her corner all the time, from when she was “a lively high school kid” until now. When her professional fighting career began in 2010, there were no women fighting in the UFC.

“Man, it’s been a crazy ride,” Oyama said. “I never thought it would come to this.”

Another part of Esparza's legacy is the second championship belt she received at UFC 274 in May 2022 when she earned a split decision victory over Namajunas.

Namajunas, also a two-time champion, has only lost six times in her career. Esparza is the only one to beat her twice.

And Esparza's seven and a half years between title reigns – 2,612 days to be exact – is a UFC record. Oyama says he has more respect for winning the title for a second time because it was so tiring to get there.

“On this path to the top, we never got a person without rank. It’s not like they served us any cans of tomatoes,” Oyama said.

And now it comes down to her fight against the 35-year-old Pennington (13-7), who competed against Esparza on “The Ultimate Fighter” as Tecia Torres before marrying current bantamweight champion Rachel Pennington – also in on Saturday The defense will fight for her belt against former champion Julianna Peña in the co-main event – ​​in 2022 and will have her baby on June 1, 2023.

Not long ago, new mothers were sharing and socializing with each other during their pregnancy.

“It's very hard to find someone who can relate to what we do because it just comes with a unique set of challenges that no one who isn't in that position can really understand,” Esparza said . “So it was nice to have someone to talk to about these things.”

But now? It's all business and they're punching each other in the face. And then life goes on, literally and figuratively, and a new life begins.

And maybe a different life too.

“I think the other part of it is that, especially with this fight, she's seeing the next chapter in her life and she's excited about it,” Lomeli said. “I know she will miss this and look forward to the next opportunity where she can really focus and concentrate fully on raising her son and possibly another child.”

Esparza says she will continue to be involved in the sport, whether helping with training and coaching with Team Oyama or competing in grappling tournaments. She loves sports too much.

But now it's time to be selfish, only this time at home.