Rose Namajunas-Carla Esparza rematch set for UFC 274 co-main event

A strawweight title rematch between Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza will serve as the co-main event at  UFC 274 on May 7.

Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from Sports Illustrated. Namajunas and Esparza competed on Season 20 of “The Ultimate Fighter” and then squared off at the show’s finale in December 2014, with “Cookie Monster” claiming the promotion’s inaugural 115-pound belt with a third-round submission victory.

Namajunas would go on to win nine of her next 11 Octagon appearances. She is in the midst of her second championship reign at strawweight and is coming off a split-decision triumph over Weili Zhang in a title defense at UFC 268. Her resume includes wins over the likes of Zhang (twice), Jessica Andrade, Joanna Jedrzejczyk (twice), Michelle Waterson and Tecia Torres.

Esparza, meanwhile, would relinquish the crown in a lopsided loss to Jedrzejczyk in her first title defense at UFC 185. The Team Oyama has compiled a five-bout winning streak since 2019 to establish herself as the division’s No. 1 contender. Most recently, Esparza defeated Xiaonan Yan via second-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 188 last May.

UFC 274 takes place at the Footprint Center in Phoenix and is headlined by a lightweight title clash between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje.