UFC 274: bride-to-be Carla Esparza to walk down aisle with strawweight title belt as her ‘something new’
- New champion ‘super relieved’ after escaping with her face unblemished from win over Rose Namajunas
- Esparza to get married next weekend with belt wrapped around her wedding dress – ‘what cooler accessory can you have?’
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?”