Former women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza hoped for the storybook ending at UFC 307. While she didn’t get it, she now leaves the sport with a decorated and historic legacy.
On Saturday’s prelims at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Esparza (20-8 MMA, 10-6 UFC) lost a unanimous decision to Tecia Pennington (13-7 MMA, 9-7 UFC). The scorecards were 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27.
The fight was fast-paced, exciting, and close. Esparza worked all facets of her game, while Torres found tremendous success with leg kicks that debilitated Esparza by the bout’s end. Esparza scored a late takedown and some big ground-and-pound blows in the final seconds of Round 3, but it wasn’t enough to steal her the fight.
