History will be made this weekend in Las Vegas when the first-ever UFC women’s strawweight champion is crowned at The Ultimate Fighter 20 finale Friday night.
Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza survived 14 of the top strawweight fighters in the world for an opportunity to cement their legacy as an inaugural UFC champion.
Esparza, the first and last Invicta strawweight champ, maintained her golden standards on the show by defeating Angela Hill, Tecia Torres and Jessica Penne. As the prohibitive favorite and top-ranked strawweight fighter, there was hardly any doubt about Esparza’s potential to do big things in the UFC.
Namajunas, on the other hand, has been a pleasant surprise. The 22-year-old Grudge Training Center prodigy has been TUF 20’s female version of Uriah Hall, impressively finishing every opponent that stood in her way.
A featherweight tilt between Jeremy Stephens and Charles Oliveira will be featured in the co-main event slot, while the rest of the fight card is predominantly occupied by the other TUF 20 participants.
The official weigh-ins will stream live from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT).
Main Card (9 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1)
Carla Esparza vs. Rose Namajunas
Jeremy Stephens vs. Charles Oliveira
K.J. Noons vs. Daron Cruickshank
Joe Proctor vs. Yancy Medeiros
Randa Markos vs. Jessica Penne
Preliminary Card (7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1)
Felice Herrig vs. Lisa Ellis
Bec Rawlings vs. Heather Jo Clark
Joanne Calderwood vs. Seo Hee Ham
Tecia Torres vs. Angela Magana
Fight Pass Prelims (6 p.m. ET, Fight Pass)
Aisling Daly vs. Alex Chambers
Emily Kagan vs. Angela Hill
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