Carla Esparza Height, Weight, Body Measurements, Family, Biography

Quick Facts

Carla Kristen Esparza, who is popularly known as Carla Esparza but better known as The Cookie Monster, is one of the renowned professional names in the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA); currently competing in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and considered as one of the best strawweight fighters in the world.

The UFC star has a huge name and massive fame in her professional career, being the former champion of the UFC Strawweight and Invicta FC Strawweight, most popular for her grappling abilities. In this article, we’ll give you much more interesting facts about the life of Carl Esparza.

Carla Esparza’s Biography

The UFC fighter was born Carla Kristen O’Connell on October 10, 1987, in Torrance, California, United States. Throughout her childhood, Carla was known to be a dedicated and devoted athlete. She attended high school at Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, California. While there, she competed in basketball, running, and wrestling. Her wrestling prowess stood her out amongst other competitors, winning her a number of
titles and awards; including a four-year wrestling scholarship to Menlo College to wrestle under coach and former two-time Olympian, Lee Allen.

At Menlo College, Carla Esparza began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the Gracie Academy, under Rener, Rynor, and Ralek Gracie. During the summer of her junior year there, she began training with Team Oyama, expanding her mixed martial arts repertoire. This helped her to become a two-time All-American Champion in wrestling at the college.

The Cookie Monster made her professional debut participation in MMA in the year 2010 against Cassie Trost, winning by a third-round technical knockout. Her next couple of matches were against Karina Hallinan and Lacey Schuckman and she won by decisive submission. Six months after her debut, she was called up by Bellator MMA in a last minute replacement for an injured Angela Magaña in the Bellator Season 3 115 lb women tournament at Bellator 24. Carla’s opponent was the undefeated then-ranked-number-one MMA fighter, Megumi Fujii.

Due to the last minute preparations, Esparza lost the fight in the second round via armbar submission. Later in 2011, Esparza returned to the Bellator cage, facing fellow Season 3 tournament challenger Jessica Aguilar at Bellator 46. Aguilar would come to defeat Esparza after a three-round bout via split decision.

She then made her XFC debut against Felice Herrig at XFC 15: Tribute in Tampa, Florida; defeating Herrig by a unanimous decision. This accomplishment helped her to become the fighter of Invicta FC and Strawweight Championship, in a contract she signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on December 11, 2013. The Cookie Monster is known for powerful wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.

On the mat, she often mounts an opponent and controls them with strikes while seeking submissions; and when standing, she’ll simply clinch and attack with punches, knees, and elbows. She was the first Women’s Strawweight Champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the first Invicta FC Strawweight Champion. Her other medals include a one-time Performance of the Night; The Ultimate Fighter 20 Tournament
Winner; 2014 Female Fighter of the Year.

She is in the Straweight Division, has an MMA professional fighting record that includes 13 wins, 5 losses, and 0 draws; totaling 18 matches, and is a purple belt holder. She has been active from 2010 to date. As of July 26, 2018, she is ranked number 6 in the official UFC strawweight rankings.

Family

Being a popular figure in the fight industry, and a celebrity in her own right, a lot of questions have been asked about her family background, personal history, and sexual orientation. Though we have no exact information on who her parents are and the number of siblings she has, we know for sure that she is not married, has never been married, has no husband, and has no child of her own.

Unlike most athletes who take to the social media to show off their family, spouses, and kids, Carla Esparza looks like the sort of lady who prefers to keep her personal affairs to herself. As far we can tell, she has not said a word about her sexual preference, doesn’t look like a lesbian and hasn’t gotten herself involved in any sexual controversy. Extremely ambitious about her professional career, she aims to become the highest ranked player in MMA.

Height, Weight, Body Measurements

A very athletic person with such a good figure, The Cookie monster stands at 5 Feet 1 Inch tall which is 165 cm. Her weight measures 52 kg (115 lbs). Her other body measurements are currently not available.

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