A night Rose Namajunas won’t forget.
The setting was Las Vegas, Nev., at the Palms Casino Resort, where Namajunas and Carla Esparza fought to decide the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight champion in The Ultimate Fighter 20 finale. In the main event, a 22-year-old Namajunas and 27-year-old Esparza fought to etch their name into MMA history.
Charles Oliveira–the reigning lightweight champ and UFC 274 headliner–was in the co-main event on that card. But the spotlight was on the Namajunas and Esparza, and each started the fight aggressively. Esparza was consistently a step ahead of Namajunas in the opening round, picking up three takedowns.