UFC News: MMA Community Offers Mixed Reaction to Dana White and UFC Removing Carla Esparza- ‘End of an Era’

In a recent line of events, former strawweight champion Carla Esparza has been removed from the updated UFC rankings. A recent Twitter post uploaded by ‘UFC Roster Watch’ shared this news. It is very normal for UFC fighters to slip down a rank or lose their spots in the official rankings. However, in this case, the former champion has been completely removed from the rankings in the update following UFC 297.

Fans took notice of this and were quick to share their opinions on social media. What’s going on with Esparza and how did fans react to this news?

Is Carla Esparza’s exit from the UFC rankings justified?

‘Cookie Monster’ was last seen inside the Octagon at UFC 281 in November 2022 when she took on Zhang Weili for the strawweight title. Esparza lost the fight via submission in the second round after being dominated in the first. The former TUF winner announced her pregnancy in the following months and gave birth to her son in September 2023. Although the former champion was largely inactive in 2021, she came back up to her two-fights-a-year average in 2020.

This is not the first time the UFC has dropped someone from their rankings due to inactivity. Their megastar Conor McGregor found his way out of the top 15 of the lightweight rankings in the months following his injury in July 2021. After an update in December 2022, McGregor was not to be found in the rankings for the first time in more than eight years after his UFC debut.

The irony in the situation is that McGregor’s prospective opponent, Michael Chandler, who last fought at UFC 281, and lost, just like Esparza, is still sitting at the #5 spot, despite being inactive ever since. In Chandler’s defense, he is healthy to go, but he only wants to go for McGregor and the famed ‘Red Panty Night.’

Further, the UFC dropped current welterweight champion Leon Edwards from the rankings back in 2020 due to inactivity. However, according to the Brit’s camp, this was an effort to strong-hand him into taking a fight against Khamzat Chimaev. This situation has its irony too since Edwards’ last opponent, Colby Covington was on the sidelines from March 2022 to December 2023 and walked into a straight title shot on his return. Therefore, it was no surprise that fans found Esparza’s rankings exit absurd.

Esparza’s UFC rankings exit catches fans by surprise

Several fans took to Twitter (X) to share their feeling regarding the recent news. One fan was surprised and commented, “No way.” Similarly, another user wrote, “Wow that’s a big removal.” While the athlete has been removed from the rankings, she is still with the promotion. The UFC’s website mentions her as an active fighter. In fact, in a recent interview with ‘MMA Junkie’, Esparza’s manager stated that she wanted to get back and fight again.

Further, one fan seemed to be quite happy with the news. “Couldn’t be happier,” they wrote. While the reason behind this isn’t known, Esparza has not only been inactive but some of her fights were also labeled as boring.

Another user predicted the next fighter to be removed, “1 down, rose to go.” Rose Namajunas last fought Manon Fiorot in September 2023. She has experienced two back-to-back losses.

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One fan gave the reason for her removal and commented, “Probably just for inactivity.”

Some other comments include, “End of an era” and “Her title fight with rose was an all time classic.”

Esparza currently holds a record of 19-7-0 and has been a reasonably active fighter in the UFC. She averages two fights per year and has had a long career in MMA since starting in 2010. She was on a six-fight winning streak before being stopped by Weili. With the former strawweight champion removed from the ranking, are we really seeing the end of an era?

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