Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale in Tweets: Pros react to Carla Esparza being crowned UFC strawweight champion

History was made in Las Vegas Friday night as the UFC crowned its first strawweight champion. After the rest of the TUF 20 cast battled each other on the undercard, the show’s finalists tangled for the crown. Former Invicta FC strawweight champion Carla Esparza survived a scrappy opening round from Rose Namajunas, but would use her wrestling to secure a third-round rear-naked choke to become UFC champion.

See how the pros reacted to all the night’s action.

AND NEW

I think we have new Dominick Cruz. Nice foot work by #ThugRose #TUF20Finale

— Alptekin Ozkilic (@alpozkilicmma) December 13, 2014

Awesome first round between @rosenamajunas and @CarlaEsparza1 both ladies very determined and ready! #TUFFinale

— Raquel Pennington (@RockyPMMA) December 13, 2014

What a #firstround ! @ufc #TUF20Finale #WHOWANTSIT #digdeep! #ilovewmma ! #girlfight #FOTN

— Julianna Peña (@VenezuelanVixen) December 13, 2014

Fun rd 1. Rose being flashy and aggressive always firing back. Carla landing in close with elbows and tds. 1-0 rose but barely #tuf20finale

— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) December 13, 2014

This girl fight is awesome!!! @ufc

— Urijah Faber (@UrijahFaber) December 13, 2014

Rose makes it out of rd 2 but barely as Carla was able to get top position, pass guard to mount and land GNP 2-0 Carla #tuf20finale

— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) December 13, 2014

@rosenamajunas is so slick.

— Ramsey Nijem (@RamseyNijem) December 13, 2014

Carla Esparza gets the tap by rear naked choke in the 3rd round. AND NEW UFC STRAWWEIGHT CHAMPION!!!! #TUFFinale

— UFCONFOX (@UFCONFOX) December 13, 2014

Congrats to the new champ. Excellent night of fights. Everyone stepped up their game!!! @ufc great @UltimateFighter finally

— Tecia Torres (@TeciaTorres) December 13, 2014

@CarlaEsparza1 well deserved!! New champion of world!!

— Marlon Moraes (@MMARLONMORAES) December 13, 2014

Impressive fight from Carla Esparza getting the sub early in rd 3. She broke rose and is the NEW strawweight UFC champ! #tuf20finale

— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) December 13, 2014

Congrats to the new @ufc champ @CarlaEsparza1 tough cookie!!

— Urijah Faber (@UrijahFaber) December 13, 2014

One what’d I tell you!! Lol wrestling always wins!!! Yah @CarlaEsparza1 sooooo friken happy for you!! First ever 115 lb champ

— rachael ostovich (@rachaelostovich) December 13, 2014

Congrats @CarlaEsparza1 first champ at 115 #madehistory #TEAMPETTIS

— Sergio Pettis (@sergiopettis) December 13, 2014

Mad respect for Carla. She was the champ before the show and fought a tournament to get it back #TUFFinale

— Cub Swanson (@CubSwanson) December 13, 2014

No doubt that Thug Rose will bounce back strong #TUFFinale

— Cub Swanson (@CubSwanson) December 13, 2014

Damn Rose turned the wrong way to defend the choke and also the body triangle but 22 yrs old she has a bright future still #TUF20Finale

— Mike Ciesnolevicz (@MikeCies) December 13, 2014

Ice cold Carla Esparza #115champ @ufc

— Andy Ogle (@thelittleaxe) December 13, 2014

I feel sorry for @rosenamajunas I’m in love with her style! I had no idea @CarlaEsparza1 was as good as she looked tonight! @UFCONFOX @ufc

— Matt Hobar (@CrowbarHobar) December 13, 2014

Congrats to @CarlaEsparza1 for that dominating win. First ever Strawweight #UFCChamp #TUFfinale #UFC

— Justine Kish (@JustineKish1) December 13, 2014

Congrats @CarlaEsparza1 !!! pic.twitter.com/84Jcv5S07H

— Jessica Penne (@JessicaPenne) December 13, 2014

Congratulations to @CarlaEsparza1 for being the 1st ever @ufc Strawweight Champion! Proud of you. #TUF20Finale

— Chris Holdsworth (@holdsworth135) December 13, 2014

@Carlaesparza1 Congrats Champ! WELCOME TO THE UFC!!! #StrawChamp #TUF20 #KeepingSqor Good … http://t.co/POTj7uC83S pic.twitter.com/M5x043wdtH

— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) December 13, 2014

History Made Tonight – Congrats @carlaesparza1 and the @ufc for great show and finishes. http://t.co/HXCkbb5ocH

— Roy Nelson (@roynelsonmma) December 13, 2014

The Champ is HERE! #CarlaWins pic.twitter.com/lAUGueYXp7

— The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter) December 13, 2014

Historic nite 4 the women in the #Strawweight division..big congrats to all the ladies!! Guess who’s still #1 in the world tho?! #AndStill

— Jessica Aguilar (@jagatt) December 13, 2014

Congratulations2the strawweights&new @ufc champion @CarlaEsparza1 4making history tonight-thank u ladies 4doubling our presence in the sport

— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) December 13, 2014

ALL THE SUBS

Man Oliveira is ballsy

— Nick Newell (@NotoriousNewell) December 13, 2014

Oliveira works for 2:30 on a near armbar. Stephens with some good elbows from inside the guard. 10-9 oliveira #tuf20finale

— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) December 13, 2014

Ohh…that was tight for a long time.

— Yves Edwards (@thugjitsumaster) December 13, 2014

I wonder if Olivera has any gas in legs now after that attemp #TUF20Finale

— Alptekin Ozkilic (@alpozkilicmma) December 13, 2014

Holyshit how did he not tap to that armbar! #TUF20Finale

— John Maguire (@MaguireTheOne) December 13, 2014

Is Stephens the effing Terminator?? This guy just keeps surviving and coming back with heat!! What a warrior! #TUFFinale

— Aljamain Sterling (@FunkMaster_UFC) December 13, 2014

A second near armbar attempt and somehow Stephens gets out! #tuf20finale

— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) December 13, 2014

Fuck he got out again! But charles oliveira is all over him like a cheap suit! #TUF20Finale

— John Maguire (@MaguireTheOne) December 13, 2014

A 3rd armbar attempt and escape!! 2-0 oliveira #tuf20finale

— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) December 13, 2014

Wow awesome fight!! @LiLHeathenMMA is a houdini

— Mike Brown (@mikebrownmma) December 13, 2014

Bora Dubronx!!!!! #UFCFightNight @ufc_brasil

— Gesias JZ Cavalcante (@Gesias) December 13, 2014

What a great fight. Stephens isnt there to give hugs #TUF20Finale

— Alptekin Ozkilic (@alpozkilicmma) December 13, 2014

Stephens with a strong end to rd 3 but didn’t get the finish and will lose via UD to oliveira and likely have sore arms tom #tuf20finale

— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) December 13, 2014

Charles Oliveira looked good and nearly finished a few time with the subs dont know how Stevens didnt tap! #TUF20Finale

— John Maguire (@MaguireTheOne) December 13, 2014

@FunkMaster_UFC Charles Olivera wants to hug him bad. I think he wants to trick him into an armbar #TUF20Finale lol

— Alptekin Ozkilic (@alpozkilicmma) December 13, 2014

EYE POKES FROM HELL

I smell FOTN @Cruickshank155 vs @kjnoons #TUF20Finale

— Ray Borg (@tazmex18) December 13, 2014

@Cruickshank155 look real nice with those hands. Especially against @kjnoons who is a beast striker @ufc #UFCFightNight

— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) December 13, 2014

Cruickshank gets poked again in the eye and it appears to be bad #tuf20finale

— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) December 13, 2014

It is very unfortunate if they stop it

— Alptekin Ozkilic (@alpozkilicmma) December 13, 2014

Good sportsmanship by Noons backin off Cruickshank, knowin that he poked him. Damn these gloves man. 3 fingered ninja turtle glove? #UFC

— Aljamain Sterling (@FunkMaster_UFC) December 13, 2014

What a bitch! Cant see bullshit! #TUF20Finale

— John Maguire (@MaguireTheOne) December 13, 2014

Cruickshank can’t see out of his left eye and fight is stopped in rd 2. Not sure if it was far enough thru 2 to score or a nc #tuf20finale

— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) December 13, 2014

@Cruickshank155 so sorry that the fight ended like that. Until then you looked fantastic

— Andy Ogle (@thelittleaxe) December 13, 2014

Can’t blame @Cruickshank155 for that. His eye was jacked up from the poke.

— Nick Newell (@NotoriousNewell) December 13, 2014

Sending positive vibes to my boy @Cruickshank155 , you’re a warrior brother!

— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) December 13, 2014

Man, never want to see that happen. That was shaping up to be a great fight. @UFCONFOX @ufc #TUF20Finale

— Michael McDonald (@MaydayMcDonald) December 13, 2014

Don’t know how many of you have had your eyeball pushed backwards into your frontal lobe, but I can assure you that it hurts.

— Pat Miletich (@patmiletich) December 13, 2014

Where was Big John when I needed him damn @ufc

— FranCisco Rivera (@CiscoRiveraUFC) December 13, 2014

Ufc doc says I have a torn tear duct pic.twitter.com/wGNwgORtrj

— Daron Cruickshank (@Cruickshank155) December 13, 2014

Sorry to @Cruickshank155 and fans. I did not mean to do eye poke. Hopefully he has fast recovery and we can do again. So bummed.

— KJ Noons (@kjnoons) December 13, 2014

SPINNING S**T

Great spinning back kick! #TUF20Finale

— Michael McDonald (@MaydayMcDonald) December 13, 2014

@ymedeiros Nice!!! #UFCFightNight

— Yves Edwards (@thugjitsumaster) December 13, 2014

Sick spinning back kick @ymedeiros #TUF20Finale

— Ramsey Nijem (@RamseyNijem) December 13, 2014

#HAWAIIAN @ymedeiros

— Travis Browne (@travisbrowneMMA) December 13, 2014

Boom then submission finish ! Yah Yancy!!! #teamhawaii http://t.co/lQgMsHqZY3

— rachael ostovich (@rachaelostovich) December 13, 2014

Nice spinning back kick landed clean ! #UFC

— Sergio Pettis (@sergiopettis) December 13, 2014

Congrats my man! @ymedeiros beautiful! #TUF20Finale

— Jerome-Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) December 13, 2014

Aaaaauuuuriiighhtt! @ymedeiros

— russell doane (@RussellDoane135) December 13, 2014

Great job @ymedeiros #beast…… but did you just punch him in the knee?

— Nick Newell (@NotoriousNewell) December 13, 2014

@ymedeiros Great body shot! Congrats on the Win! We just need one more for tomorrow @NateDiaz209

— Roy Nelson (@roynelsonmma) December 13, 2014

Thank you to all my fans, supporters, and my fam!!!! #YancyMedeiros #TUF20Finale

— Yancy Medeiros (@ymedeiros) December 13, 2014

PENNE WINS TOUGH

@JessicaPenne‘s bjj is smoother then molasses

— Nick Newell (@NotoriousNewell) December 13, 2014

Great counter punching by @randamma … Penne with a solid ground game @ufc

— Zachary Makovsky (@ZachFunSize) December 13, 2014

Awesome fight between @JessicaPenne and @randamma I’m a fan of both ladies!! #TUF20Finale

— Raquel Pennington (@RockyPMMA) December 13, 2014

Wow what a great fight! #TUF20Finale

— Michael McDonald (@MaydayMcDonald) December 13, 2014

GREAT WORK @JessicaPenne!!

— Jake Ellenberger (@EllenbergerMMA) December 13, 2014

Proud of the way @JessicaPenne battled out there. Congrats on the hard fought victory!!

— Joe Ellenberger (@JoeEllenberger) December 13, 2014

Yay @JessicaPenne 🙂 !!!!!!!

— Raquel Pa’aluhi (@RaquelPaaluhi) December 13, 2014

Soooo proud of teamate @JessicaPenne defeating @randamma!!! The ground work is wicked!! Beautiful win! #TUF #UFC #AChampionWillBeCrowned

— Justine Kish (@JustineKish1) December 13, 2014

@RaquelPaaluhi @JessicaPenne that throw doe! So happy for you Jess! Awesome job!

— KailinCurran (@KailinCurran) December 13, 2014

Congrats @JessicaPenne tough ass opponent much respect to both of you #Warriors

— Sergio Pettis (@sergiopettis) December 13, 2014

. @JessicaPenne Great job!

— chael sonnen (@sonnench) December 13, 2014

FELICE BY HAIRPULL

Ellis comes out, nearly finishes a modified guillotine. Herrig gets the td and almost gets a triangle armbar combo. 1-0 Herrig #tuf20finale

— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) December 13, 2014

Herrig doing the old hair pull to triangle bit. #IceCold #AlsoIllegal

— Luke Thomas (@SBNLukeThomas) December 13, 2014

Ugh the 15ers w/their hair pulling #TUF20

— Shayna Baszler (@QoSBaszler) December 13, 2014

Herrig just full on pulled ellis’ hair to get her head into a triangle and uses it to transition to armbar ftw. #cheap #tuf20finale

— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) December 13, 2014

New step added to triangle position – Step 3 grab a handful of hair and control posture by pulling in. Step 4…..

— Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) December 13, 2014

JO JO VS. HAMDERLEI

Gotta love Jojo! So cute!

— Raquel Pa’aluhi (@RaquelPaaluhi) December 13, 2014

And true to form, JoJo is adorable as ever! #tuf20finale

— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) December 13, 2014

How did that foot taste?? #TUF20Finale

— Cathal Pendred (@PendredMMA) December 13, 2014

Give that girl a bonus @DRkneevil #TUF20Finale

— Robert Whiteford (@Flyinjudoka) December 13, 2014

Glad to see more Scottish fighters in the @ufc. @Flyinjudoka @DRkneevil #Glasgow

— Cole Miller (@colemillerATT) December 13, 2014

Great work @DRkneevil !

— STORMIN NORMAN PARKE (@norman_parke) December 13, 2014

Congrats @DRkneevil, you were awesome!!!!!!! #futurechamp

— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) December 13, 2014

Great job @DRkneevil delighted for you! Nice calm corner advice from @doolanDNFT, always great to see.

— Cathal Pendred (@PendredMMA) December 13, 2014

“Getting the victory makes me so proud but I’m really happy to represent Scotland” – @DRkneevil at #TUF20Finale pic.twitter.com/ZVJDepyrug

— UFC United Kingdom (@UFC_UK) December 13, 2014

What an amazing experience to share the octagon with a game fighter in seo hee ham, really enjoyed the… http://t.co/hL56l7951K

— Joanne Calderwood (@DRkneevil) December 13, 2014

ROUGH NIGHT FOR THE QUEEN

Angela looks scared to death…complete opposite of her twitter account.. Hopefully she makes it a good fight though! I’m with tecia

— Cody Bollinger (@CodyBollinger) December 13, 2014

@TeciaTorres is putting on an ass whoopin clinic# excuse my language #UFC

— Roger Narvaez (@Silverback316) December 13, 2014

Well #YourQueen officially sucks. #TUF20Finale

— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) December 13, 2014

Whoo hoo. Great Job @TeciaTorres pic.twitter.com/o18EMPbfY2

— Nina Ansaroff (@NinaAnsaroff) December 13, 2014

Congrats @TeciaTorres You looked great tonight in your @ufc debut. Keep pushing forward.

— Cole Miller (@colemillerATT) December 13, 2014

Off with her magistys the queens head! #RoyalAsswhooping #TUF20Finale

— The Spartan (@EliasTheodorou) December 13, 2014

I win! @americantopteam @ufc 5-0 #teamtiny http://t.co/emtVqFjDt3

— Tecia Torres (@TeciaTorres) December 13, 2014

CONNOR BLESS

Daly taken down early but worked, got mount, a takedown of her own and then the tap via armbar with only 8 sec left #TUF20Finale

— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) December 12, 2014

A grappling clinic put on by @aisydaly! A great win and so well deserved.

— Cathal Pendred (@PendredMMA) December 12, 2014

GET FUCKING IN THERE!! Beautiful JiuJitsu to control the anatomy and lock in that arm-bar!! So proud of @aisydaly!! I AM BUZZING!! EIRE!!!

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) December 12, 2014