LAS VEGAS – Carla Esparza will take some time off after losing her UFC strawweight title, but she’s not done fighting.
Esparza (19-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) was dethroned by Weili in the co-main event of UFC 281 in November, failing to notch a title defense once again. But this isn’t unfamiliar territory for the inaugural UFC strawweight champion.
After losing her title to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in 2015, Esparza was able to reinvent herself and went on a six-fight unbeaten run in which she defeated Rose Namajunas for a second time to become a two-time champion.
“Honestly I’m at peace with it,” Esparza told MMA Junkie of her loss to Weili while on the World MMA Awards red carpet. “I think after fighting for so long you just feel it’s a part of the game – wins and losses. I’ve been doing this for 13-plus years, so at the end of the day, I’m really happy with what I’ve accomplished up until this point, and I feel good about it. I’m in a good place.”
Esparza, who got married after recapturing the title against Namajunas last May, said she’d like to start a family some day. She hasn’t decided her next move but assured that fighting is definitely still part of her future.
“I just want to take it day by day, fight by fight,” Esparza said. “The next couple of years, definitely have a family is really important to me. I think I’m still in the talks, I’m obviously still in the top five, so I don’t think making my way back is too far out of that realm, but I’m just kind of taking it fight by fight.”
She continued, “I’m not done in this fight game. I still have business to do, so we’ll see what step I take next.”
