Carla Esparza Newly crowned UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza has a date and opponent for her first title defense . The two-time All-American wrestler is set to face off against Polish kickboxing champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the co-main event of “UFC 185: Pettis vs. dos Anjos,” which takes place on March 14 in Dallas. Esparza (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) became the inaugural Invicta FC strawweight champion in her third bout for the promotion in early 2013, but after a planned title fight against Claudia Gadelha was scrapped on three occasions, Esparza joined 15 other women on “The Ultimate Fighter 20.” She defeated three straight opponents to advance on to the championship final, which culminated at the TUF 20 Finale this past month. In one of her most impressive performances to date, Esparza submitted Rose Namajunas to become the first UFC women’s 115-pound champion, but she now faces a tough test in her upcoming title defense. After capturing numerous world titles and competing in close to 100 K-1 and muay Thai fights, Poland’s Jedrzejczyk (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) sought out a new challenge in MMA in 2012
More:
Women’s MMA Report: Esparza-Jedrzejczyk set for UFC 185, Hamasaki shines in Japan – MMA Junkie