Ultimate Fighting Championship

Carla Esparza vs. Rose Namajunas to crown first ever UFC women's strawweight champion

Published Dec. 10, 2014 11:01 p.m. ET

Damon Martin

With the last episode of The Ultimate Fighter in the books, the first ever women's strawweight title fight is set as Carla Esparza will take on Rose Namajunas this Friday night live from the Palms in Las Vegas.

Esparza (9-2) entered the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed as well as the former Invicta FC champion at 115-pounds. Regardless of her odds to make it to the finale, Esparza still had to show up and perform.

Not only did Esparza get the job done, but she got stronger with each performance capping things off with a brilliantly executed fight from start to finish against Jessica Penne to puncher her ticket to the title fight.

Facing Esparza on Friday will be young upstart Rose Namajunas (2-1), who made an improbable run through the tournament starting out in the middle of the pack as the No. 7 seed overall.

Namajunas made short work of Alex Chambers in her first fight before facing No. 2 overall seed and undefeated Muay Thai specialist Joanne Calderwood in the quarterfinals. Namajunas once again showed her rapid improvement as she tapped out Calderwood in the second round via kimura.

In the semifinals, Namajunas executed the same move to put away Randa Markos and set her up for a chance to win the first ever UFC women's strawweight title this Friday. She also becomes one of the only competitors in Ultimate Fighter history to finish all of her fights en route to the finale.

Now Esparza and Namajunas face off in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter Finale with the winner being crowned the 115-pound women's champion.

To make sure you catch all the action from this weekend, make sure to check out our viewing and schedule guide for The Ultimate Fighter Finale as well as UFC Fight Night on FOX: Dos Santos vs. Miocic.

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