The Ultimate Fighter 20 came to a close Wednesday night with the final two bouts. The semifinals saw former Invicta FC strawweight champion Carla Esparza and No. 7 seed Rose Namajunas advance to the finals.
The matchup takes place Friday night, and the winner walks away as the inaugural UFC strawweight champion.
Esparza entered as the No. 1 seed. She was favored to make it to the finals with her wrestling.
Namajunas was not as favored. She came into the show with a 2-1 record. The 22-year-old has a high ceiling in the sport, and she showed why with three consecutive finishes on the show.
The former champion opened as a slight favorite, but money quickly came in on Namajunas to push her as the favorite in the fight. Is she? That’s what we will take a larger look into in this breakdown.
Let’s break down the first-ever UFC strawweight title fight.