Esparza, 36, retires after 14 years of professional fighting, including nearly a decade in the UFC. She was the first-ever UFC women’s strawweight champion, winning gold in the “TUF 20” Finale against Rose Namajunas. She lost the title in her following bout against Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Carla Esparza, a two-time strawweight champion and a pioneer in women's MMA, retired from the sport following a unanimous decision loss to Tecia Pennington at UFC 307.

Unlike a lot of sports retirements, particularly ones in MMA it seems, Carla Esparza said hers will be permanent.

The new mom and former two-time strawweight champ, balancing being selfish and selfless, is back for one last bout Saturday against Tecia Pennington

Carla Esparza, the former two-time UFC strawweight champion and a pioneer for women's MMA, suffered a unanimous decision loss to Tecia Pennington in the final fight of her career at UFC 307 on Saturday in Salt Lake City.

We have you covered for all of tonight's UFC 307 results, including the women's strawweight bout between Carla Esparza and Tecia Pennington.

UFC 307 continues with a fight between Carla Esparza and Tecia Pennington. Check out our UFC odds series for our Esparza-Pennington prediction.

Carla Esparza didn’t end her career the way she wanted after following through with her retirement following a decision loss to Tecia Pennington at UFC 307

After losing to a long-term rival at UFC 307, one trailblazer was left feeling emotional in the octagon as the curtain came down on her glittering MMA career.