Carla Esparza on Perseverance, Women’s MMA, Motherhood, and Becoming a UFC Champion

In this episode of The Heart of the Bad Wolf, host Nicholas James Muscarella sits down with Carla Esparza, two-time UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion and one of the most influential pioneers in women’s MMA.

Carla shares the unlikely story of how they first met while on their honeymoons in Bora Bora, before diving into her journey through wrestling, MMA, and the early days of women fighting at the highest level. She reflects on being the inaugural UFC Strawweight Champion, setting historical records, and carrying the responsibility of helping grow women’s MMA from the ground up.

The conversation explores discipline, resilience, parenthood, training as therapy, balancing career and family, and the mental parallels between fighting, art, and life. Carla also opens up about her upbringing, the mentors who helped shape her career, and the perseverance required to stay relevant and competitive across multiple generations of fighters.

This episode is an intimate look at legacy, growth, and what it truly means to put the “bad wolf” in the cage and walk away stronger.

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