Former UFC strawweight champ Carla Esparza 'ready to fight,' eyes UFC 199 return

Carla Esparza has mostly dropped off the radar since losing the UFC women’s strawweight title more than one year ago. Now “The Cookie Monster” wants to get back to work.

Esparza (10-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has been largely out of sight since she was dismantled by Joanna Jedrzejczyk (11-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) to lose the UFC championship by second-round TKO at UFC 185 in March 2015.

Part of that layoff came by choice due to the fact Esparza had fought five times in less than a year between winning “The Ultimate Fighter 20,” capturing the inaugural 115-pound title and attempting to defend it. The remaining time, however, came as the result of injury.

Esparza underwent shoulder surgery in June to fix a lingering issue. Although her original recovery timeframe was listed at six to eight months, she’s currently at more than nine months post-operation.

The 28-year-old is seemingly back to full health, though, and said she wants to get back in the octagon as soon as possible. According to a recent post on her official Twitter account the California-based fighter has her sights set on UFC 199, which takes place June 4 in Los Angeles.

“Update on when I’m going to fight again: I am ready to fight,” Esparza wrote. “Just been waiting for a spot to open up on a card. Hopefully soon (at) UFC 199??”

The past few years of Esparza’s career have been turbulent. After vacating the Invicta FC women’s strawweight title to sign with the UFC, Esparza was pegged as an early favorite to win “TUF 20,” which was the season of the long-running reality series that introduced the 115-pound division and crowned an inaugural champion.

After winning three fights on the show to reach the final, Esparza became the first UFC women’s strawweight champion when she submitted Rose Namajunas in the third round at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale in December 2014.

Despite a packed year, Esparza didn’t take any time off after winning the title. She agreed to fight Jedrzejczyk just three months after capturing UFC gold. That decision made her title reign short-lived when Jedrzejczyk mauled her for more than nine minutes for a TKO.

Esparza is looking to wash away the memories of her title loss and start a new run toward the top. All she needs is an opponent and a date so she can begin her quest.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule including UFC 199, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.