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Former UFC Champion Carla Esparza Clarifies Future After Inactivity Takes Her Out The Rankings

Originally posted on MMA News | By Harvey Leonard | Last updated 1/29/24

Former two-time UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza has addressed her recent removal from the rankings.

Esparza hasn't been in action since her second reign on the 115-pound throne was brought to a quick end by current divisional queen Zhang Weili at UFC 281 back in November 2022.

Since then, "Cookie Monster" has taken time off for the birth of her first child, who arrived last September. With her layoff approaching 15 months, Esparza was recently taken out of the strawweight top 15 due to inactivity.

As always, automated posts surrounding her departure from the fan rankings pool caused speculation about her future and a potential retirement.

The 36-year-old, however, says she has more to give.

Esparza Preparing For Comeback Post-Pregnancy

After confirmation of her removal from the rankings made headlines last week, Esparza took to social media to clarify her status and career plans.

The former two-time champ detailed the physical hurdles that come with training and fighting again after going through pregnancy. She's looking to overcome them in an "intelligent" and patient manner before returning to Octagon competition.

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A post shared by Carla (@carlaesparza1)

"I keep receiving messages so I wanted to clear it up. Maybe I was removed for inactivity‍♀️. I am slowly biding my time and building my body and pelvic floor back up according to my PT’s recommendation," Esparza wrote. "During the postpartum period there is relaxin and progesterone in the joints and their surrounding structures (especially since I am exclusively breastfeeding) which causes a slackening of the ligaments and can greatly increase the chance of injury during training.

"Just trying to have an intelligent approach to my comeback and do everything in my power to avoid an injury setback," Esparza added.

Prior to her submission defeat at the hands of Weili, Esparza had returned to top spot in the strawweight division courtesy of a narrow second career win over Rose Namajunas at UFC 274.

That result extended her winning run to six, with that streak also featuring victories over current flyweight champ Alexa Grasso and upcoming 115-pound title challenger Yan Xiaonan.

Esparza will look to return to those kind of successful performances when she makes her Octagon comeback.

This article first appeared on MMA News and was syndicated with permission.

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