Saturday night’s UFC 274 co-main event was not the most exciting fight , by any stretch of the imagination. But Carla Esparza got the job done, swiping the UFC strawweight title from Rose Namajunas with a split decision in Phoenix, Arizona. As an added bonus, the 34-year-old American escaped relatively unscathed – and more importantly, unblemished, in terms of her face – with the new champion set to get married next weekend to Matthew Lomeli, who is a doctor. “I was gonna fight the fight and whatever happens so be it,” Esparza told reporters at her post-fight press conference. “But I can’t say I’m not happy I didn’t get busted up for the wedding. “It’s hard because during the fight you’re in a bit of a blank stare, you’re focused on the fight. But when the fight finished I was like, ‘Oh my God, yes, my face is clear, it’s good’. I was definitely super relieved.” “The Cookie Monster” had already booked her wedding date with her fiancé when the UFC called and offered her the title fight with Namajunas on May 7 – and now the two-time champion has the perfect accessory for the big day. “I’m gonna walk with this belt down the aisle as my something new,” Esparza said. “It’s gonna be wrapped around my wedding dress. What cooler piece of jewellery or accessory can you have than this belt?” UFC 274: Chandler knocks Ferguson out cold; McGregor responds to call out After becoming the division’s inaugural champion by submitting Namajunas with a rear-naked choke in December 2014, Esparza now holds another piece of history, with the longest gap between title reigns in the UFC. “That is one of my most proud accomplishments, because that says a lot about me as an athlete,” she said. “It’s not easy to even get the belt ever, but to maintain at the top of this difficult division in the biggest promotion in the world, it’s not easy. “This game is tough. To still be here eight years later, winning the belt, I’m super proud of myself.” Esparza’s first title reign ended in her first defence against Joanna Jedrzejczyk, via second-round TKO. A rematch could be on the cards, with Jedrzejczyk facing China’s former champion Zhang Weili next month at UFC 275 in Singapore, in what could serve as a title eliminator following their 2020 Fight of the Year. “It would be awesome to change the history,” Esparza said. “I beat Rose the first time and won the belt, lost it to Joanna. It would be a really big accomplishment to go in there and beat her, to kind of show what’s made me stay at the top of this division, that I have grown and evolved over the years. “I would say it’s definitely in the mix as a No 1 contender fight, that or Marina Rodriguez. We fought before, but she’s been on a tear, and had some dominant wins over some really great fighters, so I would definitely put her up there.” As for the criticism of her fight with Namajunas, Esparza also admitted things did not go how she thought they would. “It was not the fight I was hoping for,” she said. “I didn’t expect it to go like that. If you wanna really get that win, you’ve gotta stay busy. “I was a little bit surprised. I thought she would be a little bit more aggressive. I wasn’t surprised by the game plan. Takedowns can make people a bit weary, and I felt she wasn’t committing much. I’ve been part of a few fights like that in the past. “To win a fight you have to do a lot more. You have to be more aggressive. It could’ve been anyone’s game, because let’s be honest, not a lot happened. “It was definitely close. But I don’t feel Rose pushed the pace. As a champion you need to go after it. She wasn’t aggressive enough to really say, ‘Hey, this was my win’. I’ve got the belt. If she wants a rematch, I’m down for that too.” But first comes the big day – and then a trip she has been dreaming of since before her first fight in UFC. “I have the honeymoon planned already,” Esparza said. “We’re going to Bora Bora for a week. I’m so stoked. That’s been a dream of mine for a long time. “On ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ … it’s a funny story. [UFC president] Dana White came in and was talking to us. He said, ‘I just went to Bora Bora’, he had a video. I was like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna go there one day’. Now it’s a reality.”