Esparza Replaces Magana, Meets Fujii at Bellator 24

“If I wasn’t in shape and ready for this fight, I wouldn’t have taken it,” Esparza said in a release. “With just three days notice, I’m not going to be as prepared as I’d like to be, but I’m not going in there to survive for three rounds -- I’m going in there to win.”

Fujii, 36, made her promotional debut in June, as she stopped Sarah Schneider on third-round punches at Bellator 21. Perfect through 20 professional appearances, the Japanese standout has not gone the distance in nearly three years and sports 13 first-round finishes on her impeccable resume. Fujii, a black belt in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, has trained under Shooto veteran Hiroyuki Abe and former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett. She will enter the eight-woman draw as a prohibitive pre-tournament favorite.

A two-time All-American wrestler at Menlo College in Athlerton, Calif., Esparza trains out of the Team Oyama camp. Undefeated as a mixed martial artist, she coaxed a tapout from Lacey Schuckman at a No Mercy Extreme Fighting event on July 16 in Colorado. Esparza has delivered all three of her victories by submission. She hopes her considerable wrestling chops can neutralize Fujii’s potent submission game.

“I definitely think my wrestling is going to play a huge factor in this fight with Fujii,” Esparza said. “I don’t think she’s ever encountered a wrestler that has my striking ability. It’s not going to be a grappling match. She’s going to have to worry about my wrestling and my striking.”

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