Carla Esparza vs. Rose Namajunas

UFC 10-6-0 vs. 12-7-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
10-6-0
UFC record
12-7-0
Women's Strawweight
Division (benchmark)
Women's Strawweight
38
AgeΔ 4 yrs
34
5'1"
HeightΔ 4"
5'5"
63"
ReachΔ 2"
65"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
22.1
Layoff (months)Δ 15.7 mo
6.4
LLWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLWW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Carla Esparza hunts takedowns — 3.28 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.10 Women's Strawweight norm.
Carla Esparza owns the mat — in control 28% of cage time, vs a 19% Women's Strawweight norm.
Rose Namajunas hunts takedowns — 1.47 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.10 Women's Strawweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Carla Esparza

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 108
Tier 3 — regional circuit 90

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.0 · 10 tier-1/2 wins · 8 finish wins over 27 documented bouts

In the UFC: 8-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.1 wins over .500

Rose Namajunas

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 127
Tier 3 — regional circuit 21

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.14 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 7 finish wins over 22 documented bouts

In the UFC: 11-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.3 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4922.19/min · norm 3.77
Sig. strikes landed
10403.50/min · norm 3.77
6442.87/min · norm 3.94
Sig. strikes absorbed
10043.38/min · norm 3.94
39.5%norm 44.5%
Striking accuracy
41.1%norm 44.5%
54.4%norm 54.4%
Striking defense
63.7%norm 54.4%
00.00/15 · norm 0.00
Knockdowns
60.30/15 · norm 0.00

Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)

Carla Esparza

Distance 75.0% (norm 86.9%) · Clinch 8.5% (norm 7.7%) · Ground 16.5% (norm 5.0%)

Rose Namajunas

Distance 90.5% (norm 86.9%) · Clinch 4.2% (norm 7.7%) · Ground 5.3% (norm 5.0%)

What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)

Carla Esparza

Head 86.0% (norm 76.4%) · Body 8.1% (norm 14.9%) · Legs 5.9% (norm 9.1%)

Rose Namajunas

Head 83.2% (norm 76.4%) · Body 11.9% (norm 14.9%) · Legs 4.9% (norm 9.1%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.

Zone Esparza L/AAccWomen's Strawweight med Namajunas L/AAccWomen's Strawweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 280 / 935 29.9% 38.3% 871 / 2290 38.0% 38.3%
In the clinch 63 / 106 59.4% 72.6% 71 / 107 66.4% 72.6%
On the ground 149 / 206 72.3% 75.0% 98 / 133 73.7% 75.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 363 / 1072 33.9% 35.4% 744 / 2105 35.3% 35.4%
To the body 71 / 101 70.3% 69.3% 195 / 300 65.0% 69.3%
To the legs 58 / 74 78.4% 77.9% 101 / 125 80.8% 77.9%

Zones with fewer than 25 attempts are marked "too few to rate". Each fighter is measured against the median of leaderboard-eligible fighters in his own division (Women's Strawweight: 63 fighters · Women's Strawweight: 63 fighters).

What lands on them Opponents' accuracy against each man

Green ≤ division median — harder to hit than the typical man in his division.

Zone vs Esparza L/AOpp accWomen's Strawweight med vs Namajunas L/AOpp accWomen's Strawweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 409 / 1103 37.1% 39.7% 836 / 2511 33.3% 39.7%
In the clinch 53 / 87 60.9% 71.5% 115 / 175 65.7% 71.5%
On the ground 182 / 222 82.0% 74.4% 53 / 78 67.9% 74.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 473 / 1195 39.6% 36.0% 510 / 2078 24.5% 36.0%
To the body 90 / 119 75.6% 68.4% 216 / 344 62.8% 68.4%
To the legs 81 / 98 82.7% 79.1% 278 / 342 81.3% 79.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
4936.3% acc · 3.28/15 · norm 1.10
Takedowns landed
2948.3% acc · 1.47/15 · norm 1.10
1747.2% def · norm 64.1%
Takedowns stopped
4162.1% def · norm 64.1%
63:2828.3% of cage time · norm 19.4%
Control time
58:3619.7% of cage time · norm 19.4%
32:352:10 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
29:461:30 per 15 · norm 3:00
40.27/15 · norm 0.29
Submission attempts
70.35/15 · norm 0.29

Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Namajunas has more cage time on record.